Girl Matters

I participated in Habitat for Humanity last weekend with some friends
and single adults from our church's Focus community.

We were sodding (a.k.a. putting sheets of grass onto a new lawn). Sounds easy, right?
ha ha haaa.....

So what 'sodding' really means is:
1) Walk through a mud pit and pick out all the brick, clay, wood, rock debris that was left by the old demolished house.
2) Shovel dirt throughout the whole lawn.
3) Rake and spread the top soil evenly.
4) Lay sheets of grass in lines across the lawn.
And for extra bonus fun, pick a hot, humid, sunny June day.

Bottom line: it was hard work! By the end, though, I felt like I was
on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It was incredible seeing the
transformation of the house from the beginning to the end.

As I was thinking back to the day, I realized that there were some life illustrations that came out of the day. Here are a few:

#1: Shake off the muck if you want to move
Before we laid the grass, we had to clear out brick, wood, clay, and
rocks from the lawn. We had to trek through wet mud and clay to pick up
the pieces. Every step I took, more mud/clay stuck to my shoes, and
after 3 steps, I basically couldn't pick up my feet because the muck
was so heavy. Unless I shook off the excess muck that was weighing me
down, I wasn't going to get anywhere.

#2: Cover-up is only a temporary fix
As nasty as it was to clear out the muck, it was the most important
part. If we just laid the top soil and grass on top of the
brick/wood/clay/rocks, the grass would not be able to take root, and it
would die quickly. We couldn't just cover up the junk with the grass;
we had to clean the yard out so that healthy grass could grow.

#3: Help Helps
My friend and coworker Sarah and I were working on one side of the
lawn by ourselves for half of the morning. It was taking forever and
there was no end in sight - until we reached the back lawn, where there
was an army of other people to work together with. Things went about
ten times faster from that point on.

#4: If dirt and discomfort is inevitable, embrace it
When we started laying the grass, I realized the dirt and grass from
the sheets lands all over you. At one point, Sarah looked at me and
said, 'You're not dirty enough,' at which point I hugged the sheet and
smeared grass and dirt on my face. I have to say, it was a lot more fun
when I accepted the discomfort of the task and embraced it (literally)!

#5: It's all worth it in the end

Need I say more?