For the past two weeks I’ve been painting a metal fence.
At first you think so what its just a fence no big deal, why would it take you two weeks to paint it?
OK well here’s the thing.
Its over what I’d like to say a hundred yards (I don’t think I’m exaggerating). And we had nothing but a paint brush and oil base paint.
If you haven’t heard oil base paint is a pain to get off. It stays on your clothes forever ( I still have paint from month one on mine), the only way you can get it off your skin is by using gasoline, the paint fumes combined with the gas they mix it with get to you pretty quickly too.
Any ways when I started painting everything was going pretty well. There were a lot of us and we were moving pretty quickly.
There’s spiders here and there but we learn quickly that the paint is a good spider killer.
Then we find out that further down the fence the mosquitoes and ticks get worse. No worries just put more bug spray on and keep painting.
Then we get to where they throw out the baby pigs that don’t make it. Let’s say that smell combined with the paint fumes is not pleasing. Put some oils under our noses and keep on going. A few people drop out and find more fun things to paint.
We can almost see the end and then we’re told that its going to need a second coat. Let out a big sigh and remember that we’re doing this for the Lord.
We’re down to 6.
it gets muddier.
Time to get creative and put down boards so we can stand on those and paint.
We finally finish the first coat and now its time to do it all again. There’s only 6 of us from now on.
By the end of the second coat we are so determined to finish it that we stand in what I’d like to say is mud (most likely pig poop mixed with mud) and the two of us finish the last section.
While painting I’m getting annoyed because it just seems like its never going to end. Its tedious and boring staring at black everyday. Needing a gasoline bath every lunch break and at the end of the day is not as fun as it sounds either.
But I wake up every morning and think that this is so the kids that are going to be at this summer camp will have a safe place to learn and have fun.
While talking to Beth about how I can write a blog about this she mentioned a part in a book she’s been reading called Believing God by Beth Moore.
She writes about how boring and frustrating it must of been for Joshua and his army to march around Jericho.
Could you imagine it? A trained army just marching around this city every day? How annoyed must they have been.
I wonder how many left because they found better battles to fight. How many stuck by Joshua and followed this thing through to the end? How many continued to have faith in his leadership?
Then I thought about how it is back home. How our day to day lives can seem boring and routine. The same scenery everyday. Same people and tasks. We wonder why God has us there and what He wants us to do.
Are we going to stick with it and see God’s plan through to the end? Are we going to continue to trust in his leadership?
Now that the fence is done I can say that it was my Jericho and it’s walls came tumbling down.
P.s. I want to thank everyone who has supported me! I have met my deadline! Only one left! Im so thankful for everyone of you!
