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Aug 13, 2021

 

Well, I am a few weeks behind on posting, but things have been busy and time slipped away. I’m sure you can relate.

One of the first farm chores I undertook, shortly after we began our settling in, was cleaning out some stalls. It’s important to note that these stalls needed cleaning before we even added any animals. In other words, the poo here was poo that had been left behind. I’m not sure how long it had been since these stalls were cleaned, but there were several observations that I made while shoveling. One, the smell and yuckiness that I was expecting to encounter was not present. This was due to the fact that time had taken its toll and the material had begun to transition. A second, more interesting, observation occurred as I removed the top later. At the bottom of those dusty piles was a layer of matter that had become so ingrained and compacted that it had formed sheets that were similar in style to plywood, only it was poo-wood! Interesting….

 

Now, fast forward a few months to when we have animals of our own and I am mucking stalls of fresh poo. Let me just say, the stink and yucky I had previously expected was now very much present! Fresh poo = not so fresh scent. Another, quickly noted, observation made while shoveling fresh stalls is the fact that the more frequently I shoveled, the less time it took to clean them out. In short, the longer the poo piles the more work it is to remove it, and the longer the poo sits with the weight of animals pressing down the bedding the more you begin to see that process of poo-wood forming beneath the surface. A final observation, not so revolutionary, is that when the animals are isolated to their own stall they are solely responsible for the poo that is piling up, but when stalls are open and they spend time in community with one another it’s a given that someone is dropping poo into another’s quarters.

 

Sounds a little like life doesn’t it? I’ve been thinking a lot about these poo analogies over the last few months and how much they serve to speak to us about the pile ups in our own lives. The way I see it is that no matter how meticulous we are about trying to live “clean” lives, the fact of the matter is (cover your ears for a second if you’re sensitive) into each life will come some shit! And in reference to what I am learning via the animals, there are a few different types. There is the poo that goes waaay back and was left by someone else for us to clean up, the poo that we ourselves are responsible for dropping, and the fresh poo that was left by someone with whom we are currently communing. 

 

Again, applying the analogies, it is interesting to me how the poo from the past is something that becomes so ingrained that we would barely notice it. No smell, no noticeable muck and yet at the root so ingrained that it requires a whole different process to clean it out. Sounds a lot to me like the things in life that we must learn to work through that often cause, or are referred to as, strongholds. 

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the fact that these messes are the ones that are hardest to notice because the stench has faded but make no mistake they are deep and truly in need of mucking, because no matter how much we shovel clean the top layer the fact is that house isn’t clean if the ingrained poo-wood is still present. Reminds me of the message Jesus gave to the Pharisees about being “white washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23). I would venture to say that those Pharisees had poo-wood that went way back to things they had been taught – other people’s poo becoming ingrained. I’m sure that each of us can think of things in our lives that needed, or need, a good shoveling out and have roots that maybe go all the way back to childhood. Now, make no mistake I’m not getting into the blame other folks for leaving their poo arena. Like I said earlier, (again cover your ears) shit happens. The thing is though, we as adults either decide to live in that poo or we grab our shovel. The choice is ours and without doubt it takes investing in the work, but the satisfaction of a well cleaned life is boundless, and an even greater serenity comes in knowing that regardless of how the poo ends up in our quarters we as Christ followers do not shovel alone! We lean into Jesus, we seek the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and we surrender ourselves to joining them in the work, because “He who the Son sets free is free indeed!” (John 8:36).

 

One last poo thought, in addition to having the only true source we need in our Heavenly Father, we also are meant to live this life out in community with other believers, shouldering up for the heavy lifting and rejoicing together in the freedom. Just remember, even within a community of strong believers living it out together, it is inevitable that we will also occasionally drop some of our poo into the lives of other and vice versa. We just have to be humble enough to admit our own crap and grab our shovels to get busy helping keep everyone’s stalls fresh until the coming of the Bride Groom!

 

Until next time my friends… oh, and just so you know, always here to lift a shovel with you if need be.

 

~ Jen