Alongside

I hate sweating!  Don't know how I managed to grow up in eastern NC and hate it so, but I do.  Working alongside my fellow is another story.  Now, he would tell you that I still complained and quit, WAY before he did, but while I was out there, it was good. 

We are clearing off a small piece of our lot that was on the other side of our fence, where the grass is not greener, by the way.  By small, I mean an area about 20 feet deep and maybe 75 feet wide.  When I say clearing, I mean the kind of clearing with our hands, a rake, pruning shears and a small electric chain saw.  Perplexing, the toughness of twenty year old vines.  We chopped, pulled, dug up and then burned vines for 2 days.  Loosed dogwoods whispered "thank yous" as they straightened themselves up just a bit.  

There's something about accomplishment, ownership and reaching goals with the one person who knows you best. The one person who doesn't mind seeing you sweat.

All that sweating together made me think about my grandparents, who worked alongside one another for so many years.  I don't think my grandmother had a choice honestly, but more than likely, she wouldn't have had it any other way.  I think she liked being his partner in every sense of the word.  The last time I saw her standing on legs that supported her perfect frame, she and her fellow were chopping peanuts together on an 80+ degree day in May.  Bothered that they were out in mid-day's sun, yet; a part of me wanted to freeze that moment with a picture.  With regret, I gaze back at another notion not followed through.  How absurd, that I felt I could tell them, a couple whose lives had been spent working alongside one another in the sweltering fields, that they should not be there.





Together we live life...minute by minute.

Stories of prairie women have forever captivated me.  With skirts tied, they chopped wood, fed livestock, built fires, walked behind mules...all while raising children. 



Alongside. 



They simply did the thang.  No 'Dr Phil' show to make them feel neglected nor the constant status updates from Facebook to keep them occupied.  True American, bonnet-wearing heroes! 



Genesis 2:18 talks about the need for a "helpmeet" as per the KJV or "help suitable" per NIV, for man.  It is the Bible's first mention of a wife.  This term refers to "a woman, as a helper, precisely adapted to man".  Precisely, suitably, adapted... as a partner.  Not a slave or another animal for Adam to have dominion over.  No indication of subordination.  The Hebrew word, "ezer",  or help, means to surround, protect, aid and support.  A constant work in balance between strengths and weaknesses between him and her.  Ebb and flow.  A yielding and obedience that only love can explain.




Yes, even on those days.  You know the ones.  Days your tank is on empty and you feel like you have nothing else to give. 





Iron sharpening iron.



Alongside,




living out life, whatever it may be. 



Shuffling children,



Juggling bills,



Scrubbing toilets,



Walking dogs,



Saying "I'm sorry"



Or love's final act;

Gripping an aged-spotted hand as earthly flesh is abandoned to don heavenly robes.




Alongside...help, suitable


Where you are may seem dark and dreary, even hopeless.    Been there 
Is it ever too late to start over?    Not as long as you have breath
Do any of us get it perfect?   absolutely not!
Where do I start?     Prayer
What will I teach my girls by treating my husband this way?  God's perfect plan

Impressive fire pit, don't you think?

Digging deep, reaching high