Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Best gift...

It is no secret that I am not mechanically inclinded. I have a tool box, but I never know what is in it. I have a hammer, a saw, and a couple other tools. But I am not a tool guy. My dad and Pam's dad are those kinds of guys... but I am not. I am glad that Pam has never held that against me.

I have had in my mind for about 3-4 years that I wanted to finish off the privacy fence on my property. My neighbors have provided me 3/4's of the fence, which has been nice. But none of them offered to tie the fence into my house. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!

So I figured it was time. I called a fence company and their quote for about 50 feet of privacy fence was obscene. So I thought, "I bet I could figure this out and do it myself."

Well..... after today, let's just say, " I am really glad that common sense took over and I got some help." I actually asked a friend of mine to help me. He had some fence to do and I did. He is busy as can be, and I am pretty occupied most of the time myself. But we set today as the day.

Here is the big deal. HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING AND I DID NOT.

So we started about 10 AM.. and by 4 PM we were whupped! Got the 7 holes dug ( auger) and got the posts set at my house. We got the 6 holes dug ( auger) at his house. We did not get the posts set at his house. It was 92 degrees and a heat index around 100. It's Owasso land, which means lots of clay, some rock and even a little hard ground. We were wasted.

But it was a great time. There is something great about spending a day with a brother in Christ who loves his family, loves his church, loves me, and loves his life! AND HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.

He tells me the hard part is done... but even if it is not, I just loved the work and the time with him. It was encouraging and uplifting. He never looked at me as if I was not really pulling my weight. I tried... I ran the auger... and it only took me for a ride one time! I learned how to set posts... and how important a string is. And I had fun.

Although I am sore as can be... and pretty tired... I have to say, "All in all, it was a pretty good day." We will finish the job soon.

There are all kinds of gifts that we can give to people. But I am learning that sometimes the very best gift is the gift of yourself. I felt like that is gift I got today... and a gift I hope I gave in some small way to him.

So that's what I did today.