Tend the Land

God put us in the land and told us to tend it.

We have a lot of tending to do I noticed walking through a parking lot the other day.

We will always be cleaning up after other people, but we need first to begin cleaning up after ourselves. If we can keep our allotment of land orderly (front porch, driveway, sidewalk, garage, barn, shed, bathroom, etc.); it will foster in the eyes of others the care of your ‘land’, and just might motivate them to tend their land better.

‘It’s not my trash, it flew out of the trash truck and landed in my yard!’ ‘I didn’t break the glass bottle on the street in front of my house, somebody else did!’

We’re sending signals to others around us how we do things in our land. Let’s send good signals that we are clean, neat, tidy, orderly, caring and respectful people. We will have to send these signals repeatedly, daily, over and over. That’s just the way it is. But it is worth it! You will feel better because you were helpful and did something good. Indirectly, others will feel better because things are orderly.

We individually can’t tidy up the whole world, but we can tend our small ‘plot of land’.

What do I need to tend to today on my land?

The Parking Lot

Where I work we will be having a 50 year anniversary celebration. 1970 was the groundbreaking year for our public service building.

The parking lot, also being that old, had a big hole developing in the concrete-right as you pull in and drive out.

Several contractors were asked to come take a look and give an estimate but never showed up. A fellow citizen of the community saw the need and was having some concrete work done in his nearby garage.

Today when I pulled in the parking lot, up drove a cement mixer and three men. They quickly removed all the broken concrete pieces and within 15 minutes the sinking hole was filled, leveled and smoothed, and surrounded by the same citizen’s sawhorses to shield the work while it set up.

I went to thank him, and all he said was, ‘the men had to clean out the mixer, and I said, ‘we’re going to fill the hole in the parking lot’.”

It cost our business nothing; it didn’t really cost him anything except his time and effort, yet what he did will continue to spread good will among our small community.

He decided to make it his project. It made a great impact on our little town.

His action motivates me.

What can you do to benefit your city, your town, your neighborhood, your street, your yard, your home… to elevate morale and show care for others?

Be on the lookout. Then take action.