Comment from Ken: Late again as we have been so busy. Even though we have
not walked for a few days, you are always present in my daily life because you
are my caring friends.

Scripture: Matthew 4: 18 – 21

18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Pet
er, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the
sea; for they were fishermen.  19 Then He said to them, “Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  20 They immediately left
their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the
son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets. He called them,  22 andimmediately they left the bo
at and their father, and followed Him.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Thanks for joining me this morning for our walk. Dale had to tell you
where I was for here I am at a launder mat. You see, this past week our dryer
started making a grinding sound that I could hear upstairs. That ended the dryer
for now. Then the washing machine began to wash; only one thing was wrong,
there wasn’t any water in it, and the water was on. Do you know what a noise a
washing machine can make if it does not have water in it during the washing
cycle? Sounds like a cement mixer. And then to top it all off, our dishwasher rack
broke, and water began to leak from under the machine. To make matters
worse, none of these appliances can be repaired until the twenty-first of August.
All these appliances were purchased two years ago from a very reputable
dealer, and they were not inexpensive appliances. So now here I am in a dryer/
washer place putting in quarters to do our washing. Dale has helped me, but now
I am here alone feeding quarters into the dryers until the clothing is dry. She will
return when most of the drying has taken place.

Warm in here isn’t it? There is nothing new with that lately. This has been
an unusually hot summer for up here in New Hampshire. It’s kind of noisy in here
with all that racket the machinery is making. It has been a lot of years since I
have brought laundry to be washed, and I hope our machine is repaired quicker
than they have promised.

You have noticed that there has been some time passing since our last
walk. You are correct, and I am sorry. Dale and I have been so very busy here in
our home. We painted the entire first story of our rambling cape, and that took us
almost thirty days. We finished just before we had that terribly rainy week. Last
weekend, four painters came and finished all of the higher spots on our house – so at long last, our home is just one color. We painted the house red, but it is a
rather subdued red, and we both think it looks beautiful.

Dale was a real trooper working with me to paint the house. She climbed a
higher staging than I could dare climb with my vertigo; she worked in the hot sun
right beside just as many hours as me. There was one day when I just could not
paint for I felt so miserable, Dale painted all the same. She had a special
paintbrush that she liked; it had to be worn out.

We have a deck, and I built a fence railing around it. That railing needed to
be painted as well as the home. Dale worked on one side of the fence, and I
painted on the other. Do you know we had a good time? We were able to talk
and laugh together and take pride in what we were accomplishing. From the time
Dale and I were married thirty years ago, we have been able to conquer so many
tasks and problems as well; we truly feel that we can accomplish almost the
impossible as long as we are together. We are a team in our marriage and in our
living.

My brother Milton gave me a Foxfire book that he had in his library. As I
looked over that book, I came upon an article about how years ago difficult tasks
were shared and sharing those tasks became fun. Corn husking was a miserable
job so it was made fun for young and old. All the corn would be heaped in a pile,
and the neighbors would come to share in the task of husking that huge pile of
corn. In the Foxfire book, it tells how the farmers sometimes put a jug of hard
cider under the pile so when the task was over they could all have a drink. Or
when a red ear of corn was found, you got to kiss a girl. At the end of the
husking, they would have a dance. Everybody in the neighborhood came
because all that hard work was made fun.

When a barn had to be built, all the neighbors came together to share the
work and to have a good time as well. That is a practice still carried on in the
Amish community. It is hard work to build a barn, but as my mother used to say,
“Many hands make light work.”

Growing up in a large family taught you that hard work shared could be
fun. My mother insisted that all of her children should know how to paint. You can
always afford paint so there was no need for anyone to live in a dirty home.
However, paint was a lot less expensive in my mother’s time. One day, when we
were children, together with my mother and father the family painted the dining
room of our home in two hours. And do you know we had a good time doing so.
There was laughter and good-natured teasing, and we had a special lunch or
went for ice cream after we were finished.

Quilting was another task that was shared by many. To complete a quilt
alone takes a great many hours, but if each woman makes a part of the quilt at
home, and then there is a gathering of the neighbors, a quilt can be made in a
day. At those times of quilting, there was a sharing of news and a great lunch or
supper. Hard work can be fun indeed if many hands are involved.

Our Savior knew He needed a team of helpers in his ministry. If he was to
teach of the Kingdom of God and spread God’s will, it would take more work and
effort than He could do alone so He called His disciples to help Him in His task. I
like to think that at times Jesus and His disciples had fun together. We picture our Lord many times as stern and always struggling with his enemies, but I like to
picture Him as a dedicated teacher who liked to teach about His Father’s will. I
like to think of Him having suppers and lunches with His followers and His
friends. The stories He told were stories to remember and to teach to others.
There must have been times when hard work was made fun by sharing the task
of teaching and learning with each other. Might there not have been a little smile
when Peter got out of the boat to walk on water? Do you think Peter was teased
by the other disciples after he began to sink? This pastor likes to believe the
disciples had times of levity and good humor as they worked to change the world
by Jesus’ teachings.

I learned some things while I was doing the wash today such as how
much soap to use in those commercial machines and that it how costs twenty
quarters to do a wash. Another lady told me that when the down comforter was
drying, putting a couple of tennis balls in with the comforter will help it dry more
quickly.

When Dale came back and we folded all the clothing and carried the
laundry home, I was so grateful to Dale. Once more, we were a team carrying out
a difficult rather unpleasant task, but doing it together made it almost a fun
experience. ALMOST!

This pastor hopes you have a teammate – someone who helps you when
you face a difficult or unpleasant task. Dale was painting some outdoor furniture
outside the garage at the end of today, and I had been working down in my shop.
When I came out of the cellar, my phone began to play a hymn (I have a lot of
hymns on my phone), but I had not pressed the button to listen to a hymn. I
guess Jesus was just saying to me and to all others; you remember you always
have a teammate to share life with you – that constant friend and helper – Our
Lord, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Dear God, we pray a prayer of thanksgiving for those in our lives
who make our lives happier and who share our difficult tasks. And we give
thanks for Your Son who gives us encouragement and strength when a close
helper is not present. In every task and every moment, we thank You Lord for our
faithful friends and companions and for Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Amen.