Fr. Placid shares on duties and frustrations in the monastery: One of the duties we have at the Abbey is lawn watering. The lawn watering period lasts from May to October. We are not to water on Fridays because we have set aside that day to mow the lawns. We also are not to water the lawns on Sundays and Solemnities.
It is a lesson in patience. The sprinklers do not always cooperate, and the squirrels like to gnaw on the hoses. Setting up the sprinklers for watering may take a few minutes to in order to be sure to water the whole area and not leave dry patches.
It is also a lesson in letting go of frustration. Oscillating sprinklers tend to get stuck, and there is no one way to prevent them. Water pressure may be the main reason, but it is not the only one. Keeping hoses level to stop spillage is an ongoing problem.
While anger may build, we remind ourselves that inanimate objects do not respond to our mutterings. We keep the lawns green while we maintain our patience and learn humility. As we tend the lawns, we also learn to keep a sense of humor when things do not go as planned and realize we are here for a greater purpose: to be like Christ to everyone, even to the sprinklers.
Peace and Blessing,
Your brothers of New Clairvaux
#lawns #sprinklers #frustration #patience #monks #NewClairvaux
