When the Homily is about Immunology

Simple peace

You have had a very hard day of work...physical work, manual labor which you know will leave your sore for days to come. You drag yourself, still breathing hard, dirty and ripe with the sweet perfume of sweat to the front porch and sit down to survey the fruit of your labors. Perhaps it is a freezer full of venison or chickens, a newly fenced paddock, a couple of cords of wood chopped and stacked, maybe the newly tilled soil of this years garden, a new well you drilled yourself, newly constructed feed troughs for the hogs, or anything that you have done that does more than just add aesthetic appeal to your home. You have done some hard labor for the explicit benefit of your family.

You may lean back in that chair and perhaps pop the top off a bottle of homebrew, light your pipe and watch as the sun sets over your little family industry. Without question it is the most appealing natural high I have known...a peace that cannot be duplicated in any way that I know. I wonder if mankind was not intended to often know this sort of harmony between head, heart, and hands?

A portion of a book Sue has just shared with me (at 35,000 feet) notes that as people have moved out of the country and into the city "they have left their chores and substituted sports and amusement.” I think we can all see how leisure time can be a very bad thing for us and indeed this is precisely the “benefit” we think we have gained by all of our modern conveniences and “advanced” lifestyles.” It is a void in our time we are not used to having and it is all too easy to fill that time with...well...you know. Prayer, right? Uh-huh, sure.

Now look, I’m not preaching here...at least not without recognizing my own lazy hypocrisy, but I can tell you that on days where I really work this little farm of ours I benefit immensely from it: spiritually, physically, and mentally. Imagine how a young boy or girl can feel knowing that while their counterparts might have been mastering their new XBOX game, they have worked and rested knowing they have fed their family. Yes, I know what you are thinking: what kid would chose physical labor over an XBOX game? Precious few, I reckon...but maybe that's OUR fault? Shouldn’t our kids be raised knowing about and having access to this fulfilling high I am talking about?

Believe me I know that kids are as lazy as me, but you know what I have noticed? They seem to have a greater willingness for doing everyday farm work than any suburban chore I've ever asked them to do. Yes it could be the newness of our life and I do expect it will fade, but maybe, just maybe they too have a slight inclination to sit on their porch and survey the fruits of their family-benefiting labor.

Sue, will likely break the news and I will let her. But take special note of the JOY experienced by the young worker.

Think I'm regretting my move? Not so much.