Satisfaction by Susan L.

  Yesterday was a day of accomplishment. A load of scrap metal went to the dump for recycling. It had been sitting in the driveway since the fall. A short trip to the hardware store provided lumber to build the flower boxes in front of the shed. The boxes are built which should provide a buffer between the lawn and the building. I even managed to get some skids to rebuild my compost pile. It's something that needs to be done every couple or three years because they rot out.
  Yes, I was a bit sore last night but it was the good ache of tired not strain.
  Short breaks enabled me to enjoy the day. A cool drink of iced tea, a robin bathing in my pond, an oriole sang from the apple tree although I didn't see him. Best of all there are no mosquitoes!! It's good for humans but I guess the animals like frogs, bats and birds which eat them could be going hungry.
  I give thanks for the strength, the know-how, for my little SUV that has the space to haul whatever is needed and for the blessings of the day.
  I watched people in Nepal on the news. They were hauling salvaged bricks by hand either stacked on top of their heads or hanging behind like a back pack strapped to their foreheads. Men and children were working hard to begin the long process of rebuilding with nothing but brute strength. 
   We live in a rich country. It's something I frequently take for granted. Everything we could ever want or need is right there at our fingertips. That, too, is cause for my deepest gratitude.
  "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...A time to break down, a time to build up." Eccl 3:1, 3:3