Cleaning Out Gutters

Cleaning out gutters is never fun.  However, a few weekends ago, while performing this enviable chore, I experienced one of those thought provoking moments that only come while completing menial tasks. 

I began to think about how many times that I have cleaned out my gutters and how many times I will clean out my gutters in the future (insert gutter-guard commercial here.)

I mused about the fact that no matter how impeccably I cleaned out the gutters this time; I would have to do it again & again & again & again.  So, why waste time trying to do a good job?  These were MY gutters.  Beyond that, the quality of the job that I performed spoke of me as a person.  Would anyone ever come up to me and congratulate me for doing such an awesome job of cleaning out my gutters?  No.  That’s the beauty of this task…if I did the job right; no one would ever notice the gutters.  If I didn’t do the job right, the gutters would begin to fill with water regularly, sag, & eventually be pulled from the eaves of the house.  There are many things in life like this.  This is the definition of character to me.  Doing what you know is right whether anyone will ever know or even notice.  Doing it repeatedly, season after season, oftentimes without reward, because it’s the right thing to do.  Like cleaning out gutters, it’s not a lot of fun sometimes, but over the long run it’s worth the effort.

During this chore, I also contemplated the frailty of the leaves that I lifted out of the gutter and into the bag.  These leaves had given me hope in the spring and shade in the summer, but their time had come and gone.  The leaves are like many things in life, they come and go.  We worry and fret over things that seem permanent, but are only there for a season.  And like these leaves, they may seem beautiful at first, but before we know it they turn into a real pain!  We allow these fleeting things to consume and control us.  We want things fixed and we want them fixed FAST!  We don’t like cleaning gutters or dealing with problems that are clogging our lives, but I have found that it’s not really about the problems, but the process we are going through.  We can learn more about ourselves in difficulty, as it shapes us, than we ever could otherwise.  Dealing with difficulty is a part of our existence.  Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33   Our Heavenly Father knows what we go through and he sees the eternal purpose of our situation, not just the temporary nature of our troubles. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”  So, don’t let the weight of your worry drag you down.  Lay it at the feet of the only one who truly understands.