Facing a Task Unfinished…

It’s good to complete a project.

Yesterday at Men’s Shed it was good to see some projects that had been completed… Jerry’s wooden man, Larry’s hedgehog home, Steve’s garden planters. Over recent weeks we’ve seen them take shape and now they’re finished.

Of course there are many as yet incomplete projects… Richard’s garden home for a stray cat, Ray’s bunk beds for granddaughter’s teddies, Bruce’s chess set… but the hope, the intention, is that they will soon be complete too.

Musing… I look back at projects I’ve completed – plays and concerts carefully prepared, rehearsed and performed; birthday and anniversary celebrations planned, family and friends involved, leading to a memorable event. As Hannibal Smith from the A-team used to say: ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’

This morning I read Paul’s words that are sometimes quoted at funeral services: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’

It’s good to complete a project.

Many projects are never completed.

I was out in the garden doing more autumn tidying up – digging up our last row of potatoes, starting to lift the dahlia tubers, preparing to put compost on a couple of beds… The garden’s a never ending project. It’s never complete; there’s always something to do.

In the home there’s always jobs to be done – a room to be cleaned, a cupboard to be sorted out, a pile of ironing that needs attention, a DIY job that’s still waiting, a room that needs decorating…

Musing… I remember the old hymn ‘Facing a task unfinished that drives us to our knees.’ It’s  hymn about the urgency of sharing our faith and serving God with determination, and persistence.

Life’s often about accepting the unfinished, the incomplete, the imperfect…

…Being a good dad/husband/granddad/friend… discovering my best self… learning empathy… welcoming positive change… learning through mistakes… practicing an attitude of gratitude…

Projects that are unfinished this morning will still be unfinished this evening. That’s OK.