of sweat and solitude: introduction

Two words came to mind when I thought of the lessons learned and the two months spent on the ranch in Eastern Montana this summer: sweat and solitude. I couldn't employ one without the other, for it would tell only half the story.

This summer was drenched in sweat. Summer in Wibaux, MT is hot and the labor is heavy. I have now spent two full summers ranching with my granddad, and have grown to appreciate hard work. Eight am to eight pm every day, all day. Hot, dirty, long, busy. Overheating tractors. Broken air-conditioner. Shadeless, cloudless afternoons. Alone, this element to my ranching experience would suggest that there would be no time or energy to do anything other than work [and the work never ends.] However, that is only half the story.

This summer was soaked in solitude. The opportunity to steal away from populated busy-ness is rare, but God blessed me with that this summer. Though working long hours every day, many of those hours were spent without speaking a word. Many of those hours were spent without hearing a word. Many of those hours were spent without seeing a single soul. Many of those hours were spent listening to God's Word proclaimed through wise, godly men. Many of those hours were spent in prayer begging for grace. Many of those hours were spent examining my life. Alone, this other element to my ranching experience would suggest that I got no work done at all. But this, too, is only half the story.

By grace, in sweat was solitude.

There are 4 discreet and simultaneous lessons I learned this summer, each of which earns its own exposition. And these lessons were wrought by time spent saturated in sweat and solitude.