Saying Yes

Saying ‘yes’, when the question is “Can we come help?” seems to be a no brainer, after all we’ve lots of work to do here inside and out, if we are to someday complete the restoration of Glory Farm.  However, the truth is I am only comfortable with help for small jobs… ripping stuff up, weeding, painting, burning stuff up…. work that takes hours, not days.  Becoming comfortable with even that help took time and was not easily come by for me.

Saying ‘yes’ to sharing Glory Farm is not hard.  This home is to be shared with our family and our friends…and our friends we haven’t met yet, which is what Dear John was last year when he expressed a desire to come to Glory Farm and help.  He wanted to do a project.  We were to meet at Number One Son’s wedding to Dear John’s niece, but we hadn’t met yet, when we said, ‘yes’.  I was learning to say ‘yes’, but somewhere still down deep was that little voice screaming…’are you crazy?  You are not supposed to ask for help, or take it when it is offered.  What were you thinking?’

But here’s the thing… I/we did say ‘yes’ because Glory Farm is a very beautiful place and we know we need to share it.  I guess that means sharing all of it… the fresh eggs, the poop, the dust, the dogs that bark, and the restoration as well.  So, we offered, or rather asked Dear John to help repair our windows in the family room…windows that hadn’t been opened in 100 years and had layers upon layers of paint and then some, windows that had a 1950’s trim complete with a fake wood grain paint job and it was a job that I did not understand…it wasn’t a big job, it was a huge job.  The truth is that by the second day into it, I realized what an enormous job we’d asked him to undertake and it made me extremely uncomfortable.  What was I thinking?

But the thing is… when you say ‘yes’, there is an opportunity.  To take a mess and make it better, and I do not mean the windows.  I mean me… because I said ‘yes’ we spent a week with positive, hard-working, encouraging people, that we did not know and who now I count as dear friends.  I could have missed the blessing…..

and the windows…. absolutely gorgeous!!