Lessons in the Mulch Pile

On April 27, 2010  we got a truckload of mulch delivered to our house. We needed to expand the mulch rings around the fruit trees and refresh the existing plant beds. Yesterday, which was May 1, 2011, just over one year later I finished the mulch project.

Last year we had great intentions of completing this project. My husband, who isn't typically involved in this type of project, helped with the fruit trees last spring. This was wonderful because my back was in no condition to dig out the sod that needed to be removed to expand the rings to where they should be. We worked together to get the three trees done and that was all that got done last year. Pathetic, isn't it? I kept looking at that giant mulch pile and thinking, "Ugh! I don't want to move that mulch!" Even having to mow around it couldn't entice me to get going. I just couldn't make myself start the project.

Do you ever have projects or problems like that? Ones that seem to be looming so large on your horizon that you want to pretend they don't exist. That's what I did with my truckload of mulch. I simply pretended it wasn't out there taking up a large amount of turf space on the edge of the property. I often wondered what the people driving by thought of my giant unmoving mulch pile.

Yesterday was one of the first sunny days we have had in a long while and we had a relatively unscheduled day, so it seemed like a perfect day to attack the mulch mountain. The mountain had grown quite grassy around the edges and had formed a crusty dry top and it was hard to get into it, but once we got the right tools we broke through it pretty easily. Like any problem, once you get the right frame of mind and the proper tools the problem doesn't seem quite as insurmountable.

This project that I had avoided for an entire year was completed in one afternoon. It was a long afternoon and even with helpers it was a lot of hard work. I couldn't believe that the huge pile could be moved in one day. One shovel full at a time I moved that mountain and conquered that problem pile. All I had to do was start.  You know what else struck me when it was finished? The scar left behind. Where the mulch pile was sitting there is a huge circular scar in the yard. My delay in facing my problem and conquering it left a mark that will remain for a long time.

There is a lesson here in the mulch pile. Problems that seem insurmountable can be solved one step at a time. You simply need to stop avoiding them and face them head on. Gather the tools you need to tackle your problem before you start. If you need support people, gather them around, too. Don't be afraid to ask for help. The problem may not be as big as you think it is. Lastly, the longer you avoid facing your problem the greater the scar left behind. So, if you have something you have been avoiding doing, you

In His Peace -