Cleaning the Stalls
John Maniatty

Last night the moon lit up the skies. The moonlight coming in through the roof windows illuminated each room. What a gorgeous evening that gave way to clouds and a light dusting of snow! This morning the snow was sparkling on the trees on the walk to the barn.

As I was cleaning the stalls I was thinking of the past few months. Our climate limits the amount of time we have to complete outdoor projects so it’s a harried time. This year we needed some logging done and a number of other excavating projects. There were crews on site six days a week for 3 months. My mountain is usually very quiet.

With so much going on there were things forgotten, mistakes made, and money wasted. The longer the projects went on, the more annoying the ‘problems’ became. My growl also became quite noticeable.

This morning, as I was shoveling more poop than any five horses should be allowed to produce, I began to relax again. I remembered what King Solomon wrote, “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox” (Proverbs 14:4).

The oxen have been working hard on this mountain these last few months. By their strength this year's projects are almost done and they look great. The stalls of those who pour out their lives will always need cleaning — shoveling is easy. Grab one!