And Furthermore... (Other Thoughts on Lesson 5)

So I've been painting for a family in our church while they are out of town. To be more specific I've been painting all the doors in their house. There are a lot of doors. More than one would think by just looking at the fairly modest-sized house (not to be confused with modest-sized mouse, or Modest Mouse). Like I said before, I've been painting, mostly in the evenings, but I spent all day today (my day off) painting. I've really been struggling to find a good work flow and it's been frustrating trying to feel like I'm accomplishing anything. After about an hour of frustration today, I finally got into a good flow, treating each door with the same pattern of painting and thusly establishing a good rhythm to my work.

I would start with a brush, painting the detail work first: the inlays, the edges by the floor, all the places my mini-roller would get very well. I then turned to the roller, starting at the top or bottom and working my way north or south, depending on my starting point. I would finish off the inlay panels and touch up anything that looked too thin.

I knocked out several doors today in a fairly short amount of time (I'm nowhere near done, mind you, but it was something). It came down to rhythm. Once I established a good rhythm, the work flowed naturally, more easily. It was still hard work and demanded care and time, but it flowed toward a consistent conclusion.

The rhythm of the kingdom, once established in our life, will produce a more natural flow to our life. It will still be difficult, demanding at times, and will require much effort, but, as Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is life." It's far easier to find a rhythm than trying to just paint willy-nilly and expect to get anything done.

shalom, matt