Three Things God Taught me Through Mowing the Grass

It’s officially summer and even more certain than summer sun, is the confidence we can have that the grass will grow and someone will have to cut it. Until just a few years ago that someone had never been me. It wasn’t until I bought my own home, that I purchased a flashy orange mower and set out on my first grass mowing experience. Those early workouts behind that roaring beast were intimidating, yet exciting. I felt tough and accomplished as I trimmed the steep embankments of my small section of Appalachia. Even in the heat, I didn’t complain. It needed done, and I was the one to do it. As seasons passed and each year rolled into the next, God called me to other work and I got very busy. He loaded me with so much responsibility I was exhausted and my interest in lawn maintenance waned. The task became drudgery. I wanted to hand the mowing off to someone else, but no one was volunteering and my budget wouldn’t allow for paid lawn service. I groaned to God, but he seemed to say it was good for me and he sent no help. Like a disgruntled child, I moaned, “but why is it good for me? I’m so tired. I just can’t keep doing it all,” yet each week I went out and did it again, while keeping up with my other responsibilities. I wasn’t entirely cheerful about it, but I was getting it done. More time passed and I quit complaining and even found myself thanking God that he enabled me to mow the grass again and allowed me to fit it in with the rest of my chores. As my attitude shifted I began to see what God was doing and why the mowing was important for me.

Maybe for you it’s laundry or children or kitchen duties or a job you really don’t like, but God just seems to be urging you into it each day and you don’t understand why there is no relief in sight. So often in the mundane, we discover God’s buried treasures. Here are three that I found when I finally stopped complaining and started saying thank you.

1. God does not call us to what we can do in our own strength. He calls us to what we must do in his strength. I felt pretty confident in my own efforts until God intensified the demands on my time and energy. It was only when pushed past my limits that I could see the hand of God at work in my daily life. It’s not that God specifically cares about my grass mowing, although I do believe he has a great appreciation for gardens, but what he does care about is being intimately involved in the details of our lives. He wants us to recognize that we need him and for us to watch with amazement as he provides what we need to accomplish the tasks that he calls us to. “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11
2. God is developing our humility. In this world we are told it’s all about us, although in truth, it is rarely about us and what we want or think we need. My attitude was good when I had time to spare, but God wants us to serve with humility even when we are spent and we don’t feel like serving. Everything has purpose and just because we can’t comprehend it, doesn’t mean that purpose has no value. There is humility in submitting to God without questioning every command. It’s how we learn to trust that he truly does know best. For me, along with learning humility, God made it clear that mowing the grass is great exercise and helps keep me strong for meeting the demands of the other work he has for me, and through my humility I have found my health has benefited.
3. God wants us to be productive. Some might say, idle hands are the devil’s workshop, but I believe more specifically, idle hands tend to be self-serving. It’s not that God is opposed to down time or leisure activities, but in a culture where everything is bent toward self gratification, pleasure and comfort, we have lost sight of the importance of purpose and productivity. Yes, we should spend time with our family and of course down time is important, but regular TV and movie bingeing is not constructive. Hours of video gaming is not strengthening our faith and filling every free moment with shopping and entertainment will not build our character, nor the character of our children. Constructive activities teach us and grow us. Whether it’s grass mowing, a sport, creative endeavours or some other task, it’s important to remember sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most, yet it may be years before we see the benefits of our sacrifice. God always has a plan.