It was Election Day. The day when all Americans get to exercise their right to vote. I was in charge of taking our neighbor to the polls that day. Eva and I walked out of our house to load up in the truck and go get him. To my surprise, there he stood. Ready. At eighty-one years old, our neighbor is more at home on the seat of his tractor than the padded couch cushions inside his house. He was dressed in his finest overalls and plaid printed button-down shirt. A picture of patriotism stood before me. His country ways and southern gentlemen charm have endeared me to him.
Seeing him standing there reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, “Opportunity is missed because it is disguised in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison
On the ride to our voting location, I just listened as he told stories about growing up around this countryside. Rounding a bend in the backroad, we came upon a beautifully preserved old ranch. The main barn was majestic to gaze upon. The stables and corrals must have taken up about twenty acres. Not to mention the fence line that followed the rolling hills. It looked like something you might see in a Country Living magazine. I was captivated by its silent appeal.
He began to tell me about the days when the old ranch was a bustle of activity and construction. In the shadows of this masterpiece setting, he told of the long hard hours driving nails at only ten years old. Back then, while under construction, the ranch owner would pay a dollar a day to kids for their labor. He finished by telling me, “You can’t tell me nothin’ about hard work. It didn’t matter your age, if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat.” His calloused hands would have told the story even if he had not. I could tell the word victim never entered this man’s mind. Working hard to contribute to his families’ needs, even at such a young age, made him sleep victorious every night.
Quitters throw up their hands and beg for alms. Dream chasers know which direction to run. We are fooled into believing dreams are outlined in ocean views along the Rivera or colored by mansions of white, with pillars aligning the entrance, surrounded by a sea of green that encompasses thousands of acres. When in reality, some of our most heart longing desires are simply to work hard, eat well, and sleep tucked in safely, with our family beside us. Those kinds of longings will come at a price of calloused hands.
“Don’t make a living out of waiting for good things to happen, make them happen. Be faithful in the small things that do not matter to you as much as the things connected to your dreams- Erwin McManus.”
Farmers are not going to have a record-breaking crop every year. Yet, they get up each morning and do it all again. Joyce Meyers said, “It is not what you do once that brings results, but that which is done over and over again. My mother has taught me while watching her garden, never to allow seed to remain in my bag. I will never get a harvest that way; record-breaking or not.
I can set my clock to the sound of the tractor next door. Slower than he used to be I am sure, but I know come mid-morning, he will be headed down the drive; there is work to be done. My neighbor may not lead a flashy life, but honestly, his overalls suit him best. At eighty-one years, he has arrived, with dirty hands and well-worn skin, to a life that he calls wonderful. If anyone asked him how he did it. I know exactly what he would say, “A dollar a day.”
Welcome Home
“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak; for your work shall be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7.
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