Do What You Can With What You Have

In 2004, my husband and I thought we'd try something different. We sold our home in suburbia and bought four acres west of St. Louis. The land was a blank slate. A horse farmer had parcelled out his farm and entered retirement. We got the hay field that had supported his horse business over the years.

That meant that we had flat land, perfect for a ranch-style home. That also meant that we had nothing else. No grass. No trees. No fences. Nothing.

And we quickly discovered that all of that takes a lot of time and money.

Someone else bought the horse farmer's house and outer buildings. I love to wake up in the morning and drink my coffee while I look out our patio doors and see what's happening across the expanse of our huge, nothing-there backyard. Beyond the fence that divides our property from the neighbor's, there is so much to see.

They have a couple of cattle. Sometimes, they have sheep. They have an enormous garden. And a couple of rottweiler-mix dogs (I'm not so fond of them--they chewed a few holes in my dog's underside one day while I was taking our poodle for a walk down our common lane.)

But that's the point. Their lives are very entertaining. Something is always happening. Tractors. Cars. Pick-ups. Even a dump truck. And they are always coming and going in their collection of vehicles.

On the Fourth of July, most of the town of New Melle, Missouri, is seated on their front-lawn as they light up the summer sky with the best fireworks in town.

We usually watch from our patio. Or from the driveway as we light up sparklers.

We both have land, but we certainly don't utilize what we have to the same degree.

I suppose that's what it's like when Catholics receive the Sacraments - and some become holy saints and some just keep the pew from getting dusty (and sadly, some don't even do that).

It all comes down to what you do with what you've got. We didn't get the outer buildings and fences, and we've realized that we can't afford them right now. But we could definitely do more than we do with what we have.

And so can you, dear baptized, confirmed, called, equipped, and sent-out Catholic. Tell you what, you do something little for God today, something you probably wouldn't have done without some inspiration, and I'll go plant something in that big back yard.