mowing

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The view from my front door. April 30, 2013.

I love to mow.

Mowing is a great activity for introverts. Years ago after an all-day conference about interpersonal communication, one guy and I were left alone at a table while everyone else in the room socialized. "I can't wait to go home and mow," I shared, breaking the silence we were enjoying. "Me too!" he said. "My wife thinks I'm nuts. But people exhaust me and mowing is just the thing to get me going again."

Mowing is a great way to relax. Yesterday after two hours of mowing in the sun I came inside and took a nap. Not an "I'm exhausted" nap, but an "I'm so happy I just want to shut my eyes for 20 minutes and relish it" nap. Kind of like being in the tanning bed and just giving yourself over to the warmth and gentle hum of contentedness.

Mowing is good stewardship. I'm grateful to live in the country and have a big yard, so my gratitude just spills over into my desire to be a good steward and take care of what has been entrusted to me. A freshly mowed lawn looks and smells good too!

Mowing triggers good memories. It's been 7 years since I've had a yard big enough to justify a riding lawnmower, so that was a special treat yesterday. It reminded me of being a kid...my dad teaching me to mow, my grandpa pulling us behind the mower in a wagon, Jovi sitting on my lap and riding along when she was just a puppy.

EMBRACE MOWING.

I'm noticing a trend this week--that success is not defined by the world's standard, but in being able to find joy in ALL things.


Reading Cross Roads by Wm. Paul Young, in which the main character discovers he has built his house on shifting sand rather than rooted in solid rock.


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