Chipping Away

The other morning after our ice storm I looked out the window and Maddy was fiercely chipping away at the ice on "Gammy Sue's" driveway (our neighbor) . She ran in our house briefly to get some dry gloves and said she is taking care of "Grammy Sue". I tried to take a picture of her working from inside our warm house but I was too far away so I walked over to get a closer shot.  It had been over an hour of her working on the driveway while friends sled past her down the hill. Maddy's cheeks were rosy and she had taken off her gloves and coat because she was sweating from working so hard. She said it was hard to shovel the ice but she kept telling herself  "don't stop when it gets hard".  She gripped the shovel tighter and focused on the work ahead. I wasn't dressed to shovel or scrape the ice but my heart was not going to let me walk away without helping.  Maddy was growing weary at the task ahead and was discouraged by the seemingly little progress she had made. When we started working together she said "this is still hard but it is much easier with help and not being alone"  The learning lessons engulfed my thoughts.

So many times our burdens, the circumstances that we are in cause us to grow weary. For myself, the previous few days had been tough fighting the weariness of the process we are in with the church plant.  I received a phone call from a faithful friend  (we are blessed with several faithful friends) on the day that I was just utterly overwhelmed with all that needed to be done. Just like when I decided to get closer to take a picture of Maddy and ended up picking up a shovel, the person calling wasn't calling to carry a burden but she was available when she sensed the need at that moment.  It was a relief to share my heart and to know that she wasn't observing from a distance or just whizzing by like Maddy's friends on the sled. She stopped, sacrificed her time, and helped carry the burden. Its not always about having help in the circumstance as much as it is having someone there beside you to help carry the burden. That encouraging phone call helped me pick up the pace and to draw not on my own strength but the Lords to help me endure when it is difficult.  By drawing on the strength of the Lord it provided a peace and joy in the journey and reminded me to keep focused on the truth, and what God is calling us to do.
Maddy finished the driveway with some help and she looked back and said "I am so glad you helped, it would have taken me all day to by myself." The Lord can get us through any circumstance that we face with or without people that come along to carry the burden. Sometimes the blessing comes to those who decide to help with the burden more than the person they are helping.  Maddy could have finished the driveway alone and I have no doubt she would have, however I had the privilege of working along side her and enjoying the task even though I didn't set out to do it, she did.
Chipping away at the ice that day did more than help "Grammy Sue" it provided opportunity for me to see the blessing that others are when they come along side us to help shoulder the load and chip away at difficulties in our own lives.  God is faithful in every situation and circumstance and He knows when we need an extra shovel to help get through the ice.