jakorte's blog

For me, there’s comfort and kudos when I can say I did it myself. From start to finish – whatever the project is. I love that there’s a time when I can step back and admire my work, my persistence, my accomplishment.

For me, that was last Sunday when I single-handedly applied a Stampin’ Up multi-pieced vinyl mural to my living room wall. It’s the same mural I had in my old house, just on a smaller scale. The first one took a few hours on a ladder and a very patient friend to help me engineer the levelness and artistic placement.

The second took an “I can do this myself if I exercise extreme patience and use the correct tools attitude”. A step stool, masking tape, level, and wooden shim – for lack of knowledge where the specialized plastic vinyl rub-thingy might be. I tested it, and it worked, so I was ready for action.

After many more than anticipated eyeballing trips up and down the ladder, I discovered that while the level might be level, the walls aren’t exactly squared, which was causing the mural appear crooked. Just about an hour later, I made the final trip down the ladder and crossed the room to gaze at my handiwork.

I was momentarily pleased. That lasted only a few seconds. It’s a very short step from contented self-containment to the solo realization that the moment can’t be immediately shared. That’s a very short comfort, isn’t it?

I stood there astonished, re-reading the chocolate brown words I had carefully applied above the chocolate brown tree of life silhouette. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15. Sometimes my brain works faster than even I can fathom, and it throws kinks into my working-on-being-happy life at the seemingly most unwelcome moments.

It is a well acknowledged fault of mine that I rarely ask for help. Most of the time, it needs to be foisted on me; taxing my friendships as others to struggle to “do” for me. In fact, I have said “no” so many times, that when I finally do ask, it’s hard to find helpers.

I’ve been shown this lesson before. I feel better when I “do”, so why should I deny others the pleasure they seek in their hearts and souls? Service sometimes means being gracious enough to understand that allowing others to assist may thwart a fleeting individual sense of accomplishment – but what is an accomplishment if it is not a true service to the Lord? It’s a merely painful moment: a shoulder sagging humble acceptance as I am once again reminded that GOD does not want us to be - or to achieve - alone.

Service is the key to sharing, caring, and temporarily not being alone. No, it doesn’t always last beyond the confines of the situation. Eventually you end up on your own, in your own little space, wondering where everyone went. The key is to keep coming back together, leaning on each other, asking of each other, and in my new definition of service - accepting assistance offered, as well.

In this issue: Stampin' Up!, Grieving the Loss of Dreams, Trompe-l'œil, and Shims