Full Measure

It has been a while since I've posted, and hopefully this will be the first of several in the next couple of weeks. I have to say though, Faith has been holding down the fort here really well (her last post was incredible if you haven't read it yet, do).

As I am right now getting ready to start the first of three straight days working 7 am to 8 pm, I am left remembering what it was like two summers ago working for YouthWorks where I would wake up at 6 ever morning and spend the entire day serving and getting to know the youth and adults who came to visit along with people in the city of Chicago. I never considered that a job because everyday was a blessing in and of its own. I still think back to those hot summer days where I got to see the Lord work in so many different kinds of people, in so many different ways. Right now I'm on my way to work maintenance in a factory followed by working the evening shift at my neighborhood pharmacy. Not exactly the same kind of work I did two summers ago. It is sometimes hard to give our all when we are doing something that isn't as fun or as rewarding as something we've done in the past. I've struggled at times motivating myself these past couple summers to give the same effort and joy that I did two summers ago. Life is like that in a lot of ways too. We enjoy the rewards that life can give us, and sometimes struggle to find joy in other areas of our lives. The truth is though, those joy's are there, we may just have to look a little harder, and work a little harder to find them. It is kind of like being at a restaurant and ordering something to drink. You want that drink to be full, no matter what restaurant you are at, who you are with, or what you are ordering. Pretty much every time, the server will come your cup filled all the way, and with the drink you ordered. Things shouldn't be done with the final result being only halfway filled.

So whether you are spending your day working out in the yard, at a job you really don't want to be at, or just spending it with your friends and family, I say do everything with a full measure. So when you go to bed at night, you can say you filled your days cup up all the way. By doing that, I think the joys in the more difficult parts of life can soon become clearer to the eyes.

Be great today, because tomorrow is only a rumor.

Make today great, and I hope to be talking to you all soon.

Andrew.