Pick Up the Shovel Again

I still remember the winters at the Vasgenyan Seminary in Sevan. Sometimes the snow fell for days without stopping. We would go out with our shovels and clear the walkways and driveways until the paths were open again.

A few hours later, it would start snowing again. By evening, the path we had just cleared was often covered.

Sometimes it felt like all that work was for nothing. But it wasn’t. The path had to be clear when people needed to walk on it. And when the snow came back, we just went out and cleared it again.

There is something very spiritual about that. Much of the Christian life is not about doing something once and being finished. It is about faithfulness. It is about returning to the same holy work again and again, and picking up the shovel, one day at a time.

We pray today, and tomorrow we pray again. We repent today, and tomorrow we examine our hearts again. We forgive, and sometimes we have to forgive again. We serve others, grow tired, rest, and then return to service.

We try to guard our thoughts, our words, and our hearts, yet the “snow” keeps falling. Irritation returns. Pride returns. Fear returns. Old habits return. Distractions return. And we may wonder, “Why am I still dealing with this? I thought I already worked on it.”

St. Paul writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Paul knew how tiring it is to keep doing the same good work, so he gives us a promise: it will bear fruit in God’s time. We may not see it right away. Our efforts can look small and our progress can feel slow. But every prayer, every temptation we resist, every time we forgive, and every fresh start brings us a step closer to God.

So when the snow falls again, and it will, don’t lose heart. The earlier work wasn’t wasted, and you haven’t failed. Just pick up the shovel again and clear the path in front of you. Do it today, and trust God with tomorrow. By His grace, every small, faithful effort makes a way for Him to come to us.