An Afternoon Spent Doing Something Different

For the past couple of weeks since we got home, and by the looks of things, "there'll be no change in the forecast in the foreseeable future", at every available moment I find myself at the computer hoping to make a dent in the pile of translation jobs. Under other circumstances, a "2-for-1" deal would sound great, but in this case, I turn in one job and bring home two more. . .and turn down three other offers. But I will not complain, as I recognize there are many in the world looking for a job, or who are in dire financial straits, and although I have a lot of work, I accept it as God's way of providing for us and meeting the needs of the work.

BUT FOR A CHANGE. . .

Yesterday afternoon I did something different. Not because it was exciting (it was far from fun), but because it HAD to be done. In preparing the apartment for a visiting pastor and his wife, who are due to arrive from mainland Portugal next Tuesday, we discovered that the kitchen sink wouldn't drain; the water would back up and run out all inside the cabinet.

I steeled my mind to face the task: I knew the sewer was clogged and that I would have to remove the two slabs in the floor that give access to the traps...mini-septic tanks, if you will. The first couple of hours were spent just getting the tight-fitting covers out of the frames they sit down in. You don't want to know what the rest of the afternoon was spent doing. Suffice it to say that it was all I feared I would find, and then some. But the sludge (a nice word) got cleaned out, and the apartment is ready for our guests next week.

Moral to the story: there are some things that HAVE to be done, and we might as well face the situation and do it. Life is not all about doing the enjoyable, the "profitable", the "self-fulfilling" and pleasurable things. In the end, it was a dirty job, but someone had to do it and I felt better for having done it. At least I wasn't translating.

AND ANOTHER CHANGE. . .

I sat down and watched a soccer match. Portugal and Germany played in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. I'm not really that big a fan of soccer, but I can't help rooting for Portugal in a case like this. Madeirans, especially, have been tuned into this because one of Portugal's stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, currently playing for Manchester United and considered the best soccer player in the world at the moment, is a native of Funchal.

Portugal got through the opening phase, but I didn't get to see any of those games. Last night I watched. Last night Portugal lost. No more games. It was different, but it wasn't "fun". Might as well have been translating.

But thinking about it, even if Portugal had won last night and had gone on to win the cup, all that excitement and glory is a passing thing, "the glory of man...a flower that fades". And no matter how delicious a meal is, it, too, passes (see above). We had wonderful dining experiences on our trip to Ireland and England, but what remains? The memories of the relationships forged around the fellowship at the table (whether cozy restaurant or cloudy picnic). Jesus advised us to make wise use of "unrighteous mammon" (the things of this world) to build up eternal treasures (Luke 16:9). The world and its works will pass away, but we can live so that something remains for eternity, so that we are transformed into the likeness of the everlasting Son. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is..." 1 Jn. 3:2...now that will be something really different!