I just had the privilege of spending the most beautiful morning in my yard. It's a sunny day, but the light is that pale yellow light of autumn that all the poets write about. The sky is brilliant blue and the air is crisp and cool. I love fall! I know you know that I do, but I just have to repeat it, I love fall!
I say "privilege" because that's what it was. It's a source of pleasure granted to me. The pleasure of being outside and working in my own little plot of earth. I never felt that as a child. In fact, I hated to be outside and hated even more the thought of yard work. But now, I derive a sort of gratification from digging in the dirt. Pulling weeds, trimming shrubs and sweeping the walks somehow makes me feel better about myself. Maybe it feels more pleasurable because the snow will soon be here and I won't be able to enjoy the trees with their leaves or the flowers with their petals for a long, long time. Maybe it's that work is a divine principle one that is made to boost our self-esteem and garner blessings. I recently read this quote about Wilford Woodruff and I think of it when I'm working up a sweat in the garden.
A contemporary said of him "Pres. Woodruff felt that....to sweat, was a divine command as much so as to pray; and in his life he exemplified in the highest degree that simple Christian life that makes for the physical, mental, and moral well-being of man. He believed sincerely in the moral supremacy of manual toil. He loved it and enjoyed it."
The "moral supremacy of manual toil"? Wow! What would this world be like if everyone felt the same way? What would it look like? I'm betting a lot like heaven!
