Manual Labor and Jets

Manual labor makes the world go round. And a bath with jets is real love. I don’t know what Epsom salts do, but I do know that pressurized water massaging my aching muscles makes me really happy.

I didn’t work that hard when I swept leaves off the driveway today, not nearly as hard as when I canned food last summer, cleaned outdoor jons in the winter and did about two hours of dishes daily after sorting rocks from beans in the Spring.

And the jets didn’t feel as exhilarating as a pilgrimage I took a couple of years ago when I wore the same shirt for a solid week, “slept” in hostels and ended up at a “palace”/clean hostel that had jets in the shower—I was so deliriously giddy then that I turned the jets on before shutting the shower door and soaked the whole bathroom, including about four rolls of extra toilet paper.

But still, there is something glorious about the little work I did today and the relaxation tubbie. It reminds me of this Scripture nugget: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10.

Maybe manual labor seems like suffering to the work-a-day world that’s outfitted with rolodexes instead of rakes. I hated cleaning bathrooms growing up and often feigned illness before family parties so I wouldn’t have to clean… but now that I’ve felt the reality of suffering and restoration, I’ve come to realize there’s nothing like physical work.

It's the mental work that's sometimes harder than physical labor--which is perhaps why doctors used to prescribe manual labor to mentally ill patients. That makes sense to me because working physically, even at monotonous tasks, has eased my mind on numerous occasions.

In any case, a hot bath after sweeping leaves restored my body today. And healing after a little mind, body, spirit purification is God’s promise to me.