Heat!

You probably haven’t noticed this, but it’s hot! It’s south Georgia hot! And there is no place to escape. When I graduated high school, I went to work for a local, small-time contractor named Mr. Cash. I was not a trained carpenter by any means, but over three summers and Christmas breaks, I learned a lot about carpentry, masonry, and other things involved in the building of homes and chicken houses. To this day there are dozens of chicken houses spread across Gwinnett and Barrow counties that I helped to build.

I remember one hot, steamy day we went to work. When we got to the jobsite, we parked the trucks and got out. The combination of heat, humidity, and whatever else caused a misty haze to hover over the ground. Mr. Cash looked at me, pointed across the way, and said, “Brad, do you know what that is?” I shook my head, and he responded, “That’s laziness between us and the job. That’s the scientific name for it. Laziness.” And with that he burst out in laughter and started walking toward work.

I’ve often thought of that day. The heat and the humidity were oppressive, and I was working for $2.50 an hour. $20 a day. $100 a week. And that was before taxes and social security. And I would think about my soft bed in my folks’ air-conditioned house and wish that I had never gotten in the truck that day. But I strapped on my tool belt and went to work. And I am a better man for it.

How often we are called upon to do things that we would rather not do! The temptation to give up is strong. Life is hard. And yet, the Lord Himself said to us, “If any man will be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me.” He also said, “He who endures to the end will be be saved.”

And I am much closer to the end today than I was back when I worked for Mr. Cash. I am grateful fo the lessons I learned from him. And I have one prayer that I hope will be answered. I simply want to finish well. “God help me,” I pray.