Delighting in the Details
Defoe, Delight, and Ditch Witches
Welcome back to The Workbox! This week in the acrostic series is the letter D. If you have not read B or C then I encourage you to read those. Letter A has a complete outline of the format and goals that The Workbox is working towards. As a quick reminder of those goals, The Workbox plans to improve the overall quality of content, consistency, and polish my writing skills.
Delight
What does it mean to delight in something? What does it mean to delight in someone? As Christians, there is a particular delight we have in Jesus. We are blessed to see him as wonderful, a treasure, and our savior. We are empowered, through the Spirit which He gave us, to be in the light and to love him. Our delight in Him is a Spirit-fueled love by which we hold him as supreme in our lives.
Our delight in Jesus puts all other delights in their rightful place. When we know that Jesus should be, and is, our supreme love we are able to recognize when we have inordinate loves trying to take the place of Jesus. This delight compels us to share it with others. It wells up inside us as a spring of lovingkindness and pours over our muddy banks to our neighbors, family, and friends. We can go the extra mile for our enemy because of our love for Jesus. And that love for Jesus says, "Love your enemy because I have loved you first."
This delight in Jesus is deeper and more meaningful than mere pleasure in things or moments, or even our earthly relationships. As I said earlier, it puts those delights in their rightful place. When this order happens, when we delight rightly, our joy is true and we can enjoy this to the fullest right extent. We can eat Rocky Road ice cream and enjoy every bite. We can enjoy being with friends and family without them becoming an idol.
However, we live in a fallen world. And we are still humans redeemed by grace battling the flesh. We fight the war of delights and we wage it in the spirit. The Bible is replete with cautions about keeping Christ first and subjecting our earthly activities to the cause of glorifying Him. But thanks be to God that he has promised to sanctify and never leave us. His steadfast love endures forever and ever.
Ditch Witch
What in the world is a Ditch Witch? Well, I am glad that you asked! Ditch Witch is a company that specializes in underground trenching equipment. If you live in a big city that is currently inundated with fiber optic internet companies, you will most likely spot black and orange machines pumping orange plastic pipe through the ground. Chances are those machines are Ditch Witch machines.
Ditch Witch has not restricted itself to solely manufacturing underground trenching equipment. Our landscaping company owns a Ditch Witch and it is a stand-on skid steer. The advantage of a stand-on is not having to crawl in and out of the cab on the jobsite, one simply has to jump off at a moment's notice. The disadvantage is clear as well, one could get thrown off at a moment's notice too. However, the capability of a stand-on skid steer is lower than a normal skid steer. Therefore, you should not be engaging in the same level of risky activity as you would in a normal skid steer
.I enjoy our machine, but it does seem a bit finicky. It has broken down a couple of times in recent months. Like any big machine, there are usually multiple points of failure that can occur, especially when it comes to diesel construction equipment. Our machine is currently broken down in the backyard of a customer, thankfully Ditch Witch has a repair service where they will send a tech to work on our machine. Hopefully, it is not a terminal break. We will see!
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe wrote a book in the early 1700s that has since shipwrecked itself on the shores of my heart and has forever made its home in me. Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe about a man who takes a voyage on a ship and is stranded off the coast of Venezuela for nearly 28 years. This is not the first time Crusoe has been shipwrecked or met with misfortune. His story is rife with misfortune and peril, but within it runs a thread of hope and perseverance.
When Crusoe is shipwrecked on this lonesome island he immediately sets to work salvaging the remains of his ship. He constructs a fort and eventually fights off cannibals. He rescues a native and calls him Friday because that's the day he saved him. His story is full of adventure, resourcefulness, and faith. He wrestles, metaphorically and spiritually, with God about his situation and comes through it with a stronger faith. This is my kind of hero
When I first read this as a kid I was struck by the character of Crusoe. Here is a man who is stranded on an island, he makes himself a fort (what boy doesn't want to make forts) and strives to survive and make the best of his situation. Even amidst the horrors of encountering cannibals and living alone for years, he displays mercy on a man in need. My Crusoe, now a good samaritan, taught me what it means to be brave, kind, and wise. Crusoe went from grisly survivor to good samaritan.
I have read several editions since my first reading of Robinson Crusoe. I cite it as one of my all-time favorite books. I believe there is much to learn from this man who was stranded on a deserted island for 28 years. Patience and hope were some of those virtues that he taught me. How to look patiently forward and believe for better times, but also how to make the best of the day you have been given. I hope that I am never faced with the solitude of a deserted island, but if I were, I know what I would do, thanks to Crusoe.
Local Photography
This week’s photograph is a long exposure shot of the night sky. I have always been a fan of photography and long exposure is definitely an area that requires skill and patience when executing. What are some of your favorite forms of photography or long exposure?
What causes stars to blink and twinkle?
They, like celestial eyes that watch me.
Phantoms of light
Like the eyes of animals in the forest.
Do they see me,
When I see them?
If you missed what happened last week, here are the two previous posts.
