Sweat + Home

As beads of sweat began to emerge on my forehead I almost laughed out loud. I was in my grandparent’s backyard working with a shovel and rake to fill in a trench they had dug for their new heating and cooling system. The humor was that Kent and I had been home less than 24 hours and here I was in the backyard hard at work on yet another family project.

If you’re joining our story a little late, projects of this sort are a very typical and regular occurrence in my family. I shouldn’t have been surprised at all, yet I was taken with just how quickly and easily I found myself a part of the rhythm that had marked so much of my early life.

Somehow after a long journey of uncertainty returning to the familiar was a welcomed change of pace, a reprieve if you will. I have to say it is nice to not wonder about the next meal or where I will sleep for a night.

Our “official” pilgrimage may have come to a close but I know that my journey of life and faith goes on. In fact Kent and I will both continue to use this space to post ideas and reflections from our travels and to share what God is currently calling us to.

While we were on the road I seemed to have an experience with God daily. God was present in those that we lived with, served with and everyone that we encountered. Coming home I think I’ve had to work a bit harder to witness this. It seems so easy to see God in the unfamiliar. Each kind word and gesture in the right direction seemed a blessing from above. Now at home the familiar is easy to take for granted.

There is probably something sacred about working with my father and moving earth. I couldn’t see it at the time but I’m sure there is.  I find irony in journeying cross country to find myself and God – only to return home and lose sight of that. I know that there is still a lot of processing and reflecting that needs to take place. Yet in the midst of that I need to remind myself to slow down and see the poignant work of God in the everyday moments of my familiar life.

I hope that this week affords you the opportunity to see God in the everyday, even in shoveling dirt. Amen and Amen.

Peace, Eric :p