The Bucket Was Filled With Money

The bloody meaty carcasses hung in their sterile surroundings. 
I tried to play it cool- pretending I wasn’t grossed out or bothered. There was no way I was going to earn the opportunity to be tougher by receiving a more uncomfortable invitation to tour the slaughterhouse any more intimately than I already was.

In my 12-year-old mind-
The plan was simple-
Get in, walk quickly, nod often to my tour guide, get out…Then- 
Eat a doughnut (the bribe for taking the tour.)

My dad worked at a beef-packing plant. 
Gratefully, we rarely took trips to his office –
Because they always involved a tour….

My dad earned his Master’s Degree is in Agricultural Economics. He had an astute mind of good, better and best in the industry. Ideal employment for his education was elusive, yet Dad was excellent in his ability to work alongside his children teaching them the value of such..
Sometimes literally. 

After moving to Pennsylvania where my dad had taken what he had hoped to be a better job at a slaughterhouse there, he came home from work one day with a 5-gallon bucket of yuck. 

I wish I had a photo as proof of the disgusting nature of this “opportunity”. 
Dad probably wishes he had a photo of the look on our faces as he set it among us. 
Somehow we trusted him.

It was really no mystery. 
He worked alongside us, taught alongside us, and played alongside us. Trust had been earned. 

On this particular day, we stared at the bucket of yuck and he began with the numbers. 
“Brand new they sell for $1 each. I can re-sell them used to local farmers for $.50 each. 
If you want the job-
It’s yours…”

There was only confusion as he seemed to be done explaining himself.
Having lingered for a few minutes, the horrific smell was beginning to waft from the bucket…
“Dad…”

He noted the stillness and silence of the workforce. 
He said-
“If you clean these up-
You keep the money. 
Mom has some special (steel wool) pads you can use…”

The bucket was filled with (potential) money…
But what was it? 
Hindsight indicates Dad didn’t really want to tell us-
Or did he?

Giving us opportunities to be tough was part of daily life. 

He explained to us that when cows eat hay and feed there are occasionally small pieces of metal and nails inside of the bales of hay and manufactured feed. So the farmers force their cattle to swallow a 3-inch cylinder magnet. Then when they eat, the magnet (designed to remain in their stomachs for life) collects bits and pieces of metal that may otherwise wreak havoc on their intestinal system potentially with fatal consequences. 
When they are slaughtered, (at Dad’s work) the magnets are removed and (obviously) collected in a bucket “for Roger to take home to his girls”.
I can only imagine what those employees thought. 

The yuck and smells were officially worse now that I knew…
And yet…
I was good with counting and math and could see how much money could be made…

A few months later Grandma Terry came to visit. She was pretty, a bit bossy, and energetic. She approved of anything and everything that looked like hard work. 
She bought some of our magnets – just to be kind… 
Or so we thought… 

A few months later, wrapped in red and green paper with a tight ribbon- was a gift with my name on it. 
It was a magnet. 
She had crocheted around it and suggested it be used as a refrigerator magnet. 

It has served such a great purpose over the years. 
When the kids were younger it held drawings, soccer schedules, and shopping lists tightly on the door of my refrigerator.
These days, I mostly keep it in my kitchen drawer filled with random things. I open that drawer nearly everyday looking for something important. 
– And I see the crocheted magnet. 

It reminds me there is nothing wrong with hard work-
Especially in doing God’s work-
In order to be available to do God’s work, I have to be diligent with my own mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual work.

I have become better at embracing all of life’s work. Both the efforts seen and unseen…
Faith takes work. 
Letting God prevail requires work. 
The humility and wisdom to know when to act and when to refrain takes work. 
Cultivating the desire to show up as a daughter of God and disciple of Christ takes work. 

I’m not afraid of work. 
-only of not trying hard enough to be the Me God needs me to be. 

Sometimes understanding that work requires silencing the world around me. It requires stillness and surrendering…
Sometimes the hardest work in letting God prevail is to stop working so hard to drive a result and simply let God do the work. 

…Which for me- a doer, a worker- can often be the hardest yet most rewarding peace-filled work…

-JC

Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup soft butter
¼ cup oil
1 cup peanut butter
1 ¾ cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil, peanut butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high for 2+ minutes or until well blended. Hand stir in eggs and vanilla extract; don’t overmix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Scoop out approximately 24+ 2” balls of dough.  Gently roll into balls. Press the tops into a bowl of Reese’s Pieces. Flatten slightly. For a richer flavor and smoother texture, refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake. Place on greased or parchment paper on an aluminum cookie sheet.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 10+  min. 
Let set. Share!