Life is STRANGE...and sometimes hurts!

As I sit here in front of the fire, drinking coffee and talking to my Grandson Gavin, who is only three years old, I have to wonder:

Does it get any better than this?

There's a fridge full of food, a microwave if I want something really quick, a dishwasher for the dirty stuff...
It's 35 degrees outside, yet I'm nice and toasty inside thanks to my heating system....

Contrast that with the life of Clem Watson, living in the distant past:
Clem gets up around 5:00a.m., to feed the livestock. This is very important, as that livestock provides food for his family!
After baling hay for the horses, scattering feed for the chickens, milking the cow, slopping the hogs, and leaving the barn doors open for the animals to roam a bit after their breakfast, Clem returns to his home, and HIS breakfast, at about 7:00 a.m..

After a LARGE breakfast, which Clem's wife has already prepared for him,
Clem goes about his daily routine:

1.Check and mend the fences, so his livestock will REMAIN his.

2.Plant garden...work garden...or possibly reap garden...(rem there are no grocery stores nearby - Clem grows his own herbs, also!).

3.Make necessary repairs to house.

4.Make sure the horses are properly shoed.

5.Check hooves of all hooved animals - trim as needed!

6.Check all animals for diseases...if they should spread, Clem could lose EVERYTHING!

7.Kill whatever he plans to eat that day (week?)...stretch the hide, scrape it, tan it, and cut shoestrings for shoes, make shoes from tanned hide if needed. While Clem does this, his wife is busily preparing the meat by:
Salting it...
Smoking it...
Drying it...
Cooking part of it...
Storing a part of it in the root celler husband Clem dug last winter.

Boy, I'm tired just WRITING about this stuff (and I've barely touched the surface)!

Back to today...we think of our lifestyle as stressful, but would we trade what we have NOW for what Clem had THEN?

No way, brother!

I know life hurts some of the time...especially when a friend stabs you in the back, or someone steps on you to get ahead - but all you can really do is get up, brush yourself off, and keep on going!

Life on a construction site is really no different than anywhere else - and on the site, we have a saying: "If they're talking about ME, at least they're giving someone ELSE a break!"

"They" being the troublemakers, of course!

Rise above those troublemakers...don't act like them, or even signify they've done anything to hurt you!

A long time ago, a man named Jesus said "Do good to your enemies...and you will heap burning coals on their head."

He also suggested we pray for our enemies...it takes a LOT of forgiveness AND integrity to do something like that..but when you do, what a rush!

It's HEALING, somehow....

But, back to Clem and HIS struggles -

Kinda makes you feel THANKFUL for what you have, don't it?

QUICK!
Before the feeling goes away - Whisper a prayer of thanks to GOD...hug your spouse...and kids...and even your boss!

Now SMILE...make a copy of this for your workplace, and reread this as often as needed!

You're pretty special - NEVER forget that, and don't EVER believe what "they" say about you again!