"Can you dig it?" - been going through my head all week. At the church where I work they've started a major landscaping project in the "courtyard". They are spending mega bucks (over $90K) on this project. I have a hard time with that given how many mouths that would feed in our community. The only saving grace in my opinion is that at least we are giving a few people work. Work they may not have had if it hadn't been for the generosity of the FH members to give much of their hard earned money to landscaping in the loving memory or loving honor of someone important to them. As I see the bobcat expeditiously moving dirt from one place to another, eventually loading the dirt onto a dump truck and dumping it somewhere offsite (which we're paying for) only to have to bring in more dirt later (which we'll pay for) - I think... "what in the world Pearl?" Pearl responds, shaking her wise old head, "this isn't your problem honey - you can't change this so embrace it". So I am trying to do just that. I am trying to embrace the passion of the ladies on the committee that put the wheels of the bobcat in motion. But they're old, they get revved up about "gahden pahties" and the like. I'm more interested in just seeing nature as it grows out of the ground.
We also had more digging in front of the church. A dead line for a light had to be located, removed and replaced. But hey, guess what - the light still isn't working and the electrician has been gone (with my church key mind you) for three days. Maybe he'll come back today, maybe Monday. Hopefully with my church key! Nice guy, but again - I'll just have to keep up my mantra - "we're helping the local economy by paying this man", "we're helping the local economy by paying this man", rinse & repeat.
The saving grace for the week was the downing of the leaning trees. During a recent snow "event" as they call them in NC (in GA we called them "let's-go-get-some-milk-and-bread") we had one tree fall in the parking lot taking down a power line. Another tree was leaning, nearly falling too. A glorious member of the church VOLUNTEERED to cut up the fallen tree and take down/cut up the leaning tree. I cap the word volunteered because they don't grow on tree you know!
So the phrase "can you dig it?" I guess applies to me this week. CAN I dig it? Can I embrace this landscaping project even as I take a phone call from a homeless person who wants to know if the church has a shelter or a soup kitchen? "No sir, but call back in about 3 months and we'll have a dandy of a hardscaped courtyard!" Can I prepare checks to pay $20K invoices for cement pavers as I think about the family at the elementary school behind the church that has 4 kids and their lights are being shut off Monday due to lack of payment? Can I practice patience with the guy who has my church key? Can't I just be grateful for the dear man who came to take down the trees? I don't know... I just work here.
