Dirty jobs are a given on any homestead. Most people run,
screaming, from those jobs that include vast amounts of dirt, grease, or gunk.
Those jobs that smell so horribly that you long for Vicks to be smeared under
your nose. Most people, but not me.
I enjoy these jobs. I love making something that was dirty
and gross into something clean and wonderful again.
JP is more than happy to let me have all the dirty jobs I
desire. The most recent major dirty job involved the gray water tanks for our
clothes washer.
Our washer was overflowing and backing up. This led to us
digging up the gray water tanks. We found them to be filled with decades of
grime, grease and roots. The smell was overwhelming. I was in my element.
I took it as my personal challenge to thoroughly clean the
tanks of all the nastiness. While JP assisted me, I bailed out the water from
the tanks, and then started in on the three feet of gunk.
After hours of cleaning, hauling, and washing, I was
finished with my task. JP ran a new line, and we were back in business.
These gray water tanks remind me of my life. Overtime, gunk
and grime build up in my life. It could come in many forms: extra pounds,
regret, not forgiving wrongs committed against me, and so much more.
I am working on learning to be just as zealous to clean out
my life, as I am our gray water tanks.
People ask me all of the time how I remain so positive. How
I can seemingly be constantly joyous. The answer is found in the Bible. Psalm
51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit
within me.”
Everyday, with God’s help, I CHOOSE JOY. I ask God to help
me forgive those that have wronged me. To help me forgive myself for any
regrets I may have. To help me sustain self-control when it comes to the delicious
foods that are placed in my path. To remind me of ALL of the BLESSINGS that are
in my life. I choose to cleanse my life of the grime and become clean again.
Dirty jobs happen in everyone’s life. I challenge you to
face them head on, with a joyful spirit, choosing joy.
As Henri Nouwen said, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We
have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
I had a mental image of "3 feet of gunk" and that was about all I could take for those few moments. On a less interesting note, I didn't know there was a such thing as gray water tanks.
ReplyDeleteRobb,
ReplyDeleteThe gray water tanks that are connected to our clothes washer, hold the water as it empties out during the spin cycle, giving the water time to be absorbed into the ground via the leach beds. :) ~Annie
How satisfying it must still be knowing it's now clean. I love that.
ReplyDeleteIt really is. It is also satisfying to know that I probably will not have to clean it out again for many, many years. :)
Delete