What I Learned From Sawing Wood

During our time at our host’s home in Quito we were asked to do daily chores outside for about two hours. The chore I was assigned to with two other squad mates was to saw wood. Now when you think of sawing wood, you may be thinking of a sharp tool that is effective in cutting a log. But let me tell you, even your wildest imaginations of the worst tools against the hardest piece of wood would not compare to the reality that the three of us endured for a solid eight hours in total. The saws we were using were ancient. They were rusted and the teeth were broken off so that they were more nubs than teeth. It probably would have worked better to use a butter knife to cut this wood than to use these saws. (That may be a bit of an over exaggeration, but it gives you an idea). 

This seemed like a ridiculous task to us to begin with, because we weren’t really sure of the exact purpose of our cutting, but because we were told to do it, we did it. We started out, spirits high on the first day, despite looking into the shed full of pallet wood our host, Fabi, wanted chopped. We began sawing. And sawing. And sawing. Two hours later each of us had made it through a single piece. Two hours of work (in the raging sun of Ecuador) and the only profit for our work was three six inch pieces of wood. This was disheartening to say the least. 

The second day we came prepared with sunscreen, a speaker, and bandaids for our many blisters. This time, our efforts amounted in two or three pieces of wood each. I remember laughing at the situation together until we couldn’t quite tell whether we were laughing or crying. 

This continued for the rest of our work days, with little improvements as we learned ways to cheat the process by jumping on the wood to break it or whacking at it with an ax. (This actually was not at all a better way to cut the wood considering the severe dullness of the ax, but it was an entertaining break from the saw.) but the reality was that we needed to just sit and slowly tug back and forth of that saw until the wood was cut. There just was not a better way to complete the task. 

Throughout this time it seemed that there was a theme sticking out to me in every teaching and devotion we had during the day. The Lord kept saying through various people, “do not rush through the hard things in life just because they are hard. The growth comes from the most difficult moments.” As I sawed for what seemed like hours on end, I would think about this concept, realizing that this seemingly insignificant task was no exception to the truth that God was teaching me. Sometimes in life the thing that is the most painful and that gives us the most discomfort, rubbing us wrong and giving us blisters is the one thing that the Lord is able to really work through. The perseverance through these things is what brings lasting change in our lives.

Jesus says in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” He has not promised a forever easy, always explainable or endlessly fun life, but what He did promise is that He has already taken care of it, and will be present with us in the midst of whatever may be going on. We are not given trials or seemingly meaningless tasks for no reason. But in them, the question we must ask ourselves is: am I going to pout and be angry because I’m uncomfortable and being challenged, or am I going to press in and gain all that I can out of every experience despite its level of difficulty. 

Now the question is for you: what situation or experience does the Lord have you in right now that He wants you to grow from instead of just rushing through it? What does it look like for you to choose into the growth available instead of shying away from the pain or uncomfort you may be experiencing? The longer time I spent sawing wood, the more wood we were able to cut, and therefore able to see more of our progress. As we decide to choose into the hard things in life, we will begin to see progress and eventually be able to look back and see the faithfulness of the Lord in what seemed like the hardest of times. 

I hope this was encouraging to you today as you seek out our Father and hopefully choose into whatever He has for you today, no matter the difficulty. 

– Beth