The Work of the Hands

Princess’s hand in mine

After I let myself get “busy” doing the things that did not matter so much, I made sure to be intentional with my time.  Princess and I got busy doing the work of the hands on her school off day.  We went to Lowe’s and bought some soil, herbs, and pretty flowers.  Then we came home and spent the rest of the day diligently working with our hands.  We managed to work the first half of the day just on the herb garden we built.  Then we ate lunch and picked up Speed Racer.  And then all of us, Princess, Speed Racer, Doodle Bug, and me, planted the rest after school.

One of the things I enjoyed about our time that day was seeing my sweet Princess get her hands dirty and in the soil without being afraid of being dirty.  I remember making mud pies when I was little, and I learned to love the soil as a “soil engineer” back when I worked.  Getting my hands dirty and analyzing the soil was important to the work I did as an engineer.  Now my kids are finding worms and are not afraid to hold them.  We even saw a medium earthworm, a large earthworm, and a tee-tiny earthworm.  We explored all of the creation God offered us to see that day and loved it.

All of the playing in the dirt with our hands got me to thinking about how fulfilling it is to work with one’s hands.  A few spring times have come and gone without my hands getting to dig in the dirt from being pregnant and not feeling like getting down or simply being busy taking care of a little one.  But I love to plant, to dig my fingers through the soil.  I think that’s one reason why I love to bake and play in the flour and dough as well.

Scripture exhorts us to “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands.”  1 Thessalonians 4:11  I think I need to meditate on and practice this more.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”  Psalm 90:17

The work of our hands ultimately is to do the will of the Father and believe in the one He has sent.  (John 6:29)

Scriptures calls to praise the Works of His Hands and not to make idols of the works we’ve done with our own hands.  Lord, may we remain humble and never believe that our work supersedes Your Work.

We planted these two new dianthus here and relocated the older one from the back to the front.

We added the carnation to this bed.  This is were we had fun watching and wondering over the worms.

Our herb garden – basil, lemon thyme, stevia, oregano, rosemary, and cilantro.

A baby caterpillar on Princess’s hand – not a worm, but similar