I tip-toed out the front door of the house to take a phone call so I wouldn’t wake my napping teen in the family room. She’s recovering from surgery. I’d just caught a bowl-full of her vomit and reapplied ice packs to her incision sites. A moment in the sunshine, breeze, and green grass would serve as a welcome respite, regardless of the duration.
I spoke briefly with an irate plumber on the other end of the phone line, who was upset that my husband forgot to cancel the appointment to have them fix the water leak in the garage. While putting out that little fire, the general contractor (who is building a house next door for my parents to live in) texted with questions and to-dos and more facts and figures than my exhausted brain could untangle. My son texted his usual “can you pick me up” and “what’s for supper” in the midst of it all.
I hung up with the plumbers. Then I remembered the giant tarantula I’d just seen on the wall in the garage where the water is leaking. I looked down and took a long, slow, deep breath. And I noticed something moving. Right in front of me on the sidewalk, I watched two dung beetles skillfully and gleefully roll a deer turd right across my path. I burst into a fit of giggles and shook my head, thinking, “Well if that isn’t just the perfect picture of my life right now.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying my life is a turd. Sure, circumstances are difficult and stressful right now, but I recognize I’ve been blessed way beyond what I deserve. As one of my toddlers used to say, “I’m not complainin’. I’m just esplainin’!” What I am saying is I kind of relate to that happy little dung beetle and his partner-in-crime. That’s a stinky, sticky turd ball, but those two are making the most of it.
Work willingly at whatever you do,
Colossians 3:23
as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Instead of asking, “Why me, God? Why is this my life?” Try asking instead the following question Lysa TerKeurst posted on Facebook yesterday: “What if this is happening because God loves me? I can’t see all there is to see. But He can. I can trust Him. I can trust Him. I can trust Him.”
I guess my point is this. At some point, we will all feel like a bug that’s rolling feces uphill; so, find the One who can help you roll it — and roll with it. It’s a lot easier to find purpose in the task and to accomplish it with a grateful heart when you work alongside your Creator and Savior.
GLEEFULLY His,
Nicki