Growing up, I didn't participate a lot in any manual labor. I was more of an academic or at least my parents wanted me to be more academic. I wasn't actually more academic. I want to play and run but I had to sit and study. I don't think it worked out well for all parties but in the end I do appreciate all that my parents have given and sacrificed for my siblings and me.
Getting back to the point. Manual labor was something that I did every blue moon. When the branches from the trees needed to cleared or when the dishwasher needed to be emptied but it wasn't a common occurrence.
Now as an adult there is something about manual labor that I find some refreshing. Something about using the body that God created for me, us to do something. It makes me feel alive.
While in Norway, I participated in manual labor a lot. Jonas' family has a lot of land and his dad is always working so I asked him if he needed help. I ended up nailing things into a wooden play house, painting, and moving firewood from one location to another. It may not seem like much but it helped me get out of my comfort zone.
Since I grew up in the city I really didn't like anything rustic. I hated the feeling of dirt or dust on my skin. I hate bugs and I don't like messing up my attire.
Well while I was hammering nails or painting the house, there were spiders running around and dirt everywhere. When we were moving firewood there were so many bugs I think I screamed more than I have my entire life. And these are small spiders, but big spiders. Jonas and his father would laugh at me every time I ran away and screamed. The bugs didn't seem to faze them. They would pile wood in their arms and simply walk with the wood against the body.
I would take two pieces, two in each hand and carry it as far away from my body as possible.
It took a few hours for us to finish but at the end of it, I actually didn't care about the spiders anymore. I didn't care about the dust and dirt. It was just a part of the process and that part I had accepted. The bugs were probably more scared than I was and the dirt from the wood was also something God created.
I felt alive. I felt like my body was more than just a walking brain. Moving this firewood meant that we would be warm all winter. I really appreciate manual labor because it reminds me of grassroots living. A way of life that doesn't mean going to amazon and buying logs of firewood but it means going and chopping the wood, bringing it home and burning it ourselves We were created for so much more than just clicking and buying.
God is a worker. Jesus was a carpenter. He used his arms, hands and brain to create. We are his creation and he has given us arms, hands and brain to make this place a better place. To create a world that loves Him for his creation and his gifts that he has given us. We must use our hands and feet to create. Let us labor in the vineyard.
