Yard Work and Charity

So this morning I went over to help the ward do some yard work for a family in the neighborhood.  They (and I don't know who THEY is, only that Scott got it) sent a text to everyone saying this family needed emergency help on the yard, and asked everyone to come. 

Turns out, the family had a couple sprinklers burst and it caused some big issues in the yard.  But the ward decided not to stop at the sprinklers.  We weeded, pruned trees, swept, dug, and even planted flowers someone donated.  (They had bought them for their own yard, but decided that since no one would see them in the back yard, they would donate them to this family instead.)  Several men fixed the sprinklers, which included a lot of hard digging and lots of very involved work.  I found out about halfway through the job that this family wasn't even home.  They had NO idea we were helping with their yard.  They went out of town and while they were gone, a friend noticed the sprinklers were flooding everything and so the ward went over and just took care of it for them.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to go home to that- your sprinklers fixed and your yard beautified- all done by friends who love you.  I bet it will be an amazing thing for them when they come home.

But what really struck me while doing this project was how much fun everyone was having.  One of the younger girls (I think about 10?) commented on how fun it was.  I realized I was having fun, too.  Then I realized something else- I hate yard work, and procrastinate a ton at my own house. Why was this fun?

The first thing that came to me was that it was with friends.  Everyone was working together and talking and laughing while working.  Many hands make light work is the phrase that comes to mind.  Things are always more fun when we do them with people.  I think the Savior meant for us to work together.  He sent his disciples out in pairs- not alone.  He wants us to work together for a good cause.

I realized another aspect that made today's project fun, though.  Charity.  Charity is the pure love of Christ.  When we have charity, it means God has given us His love for other people.  When you do something out of love, you do it happily.  A gift given begrudgingly is not given out of love.  When a gift (or service) is given out of love, it is given happily.  That makes it fun to do.

Let's always try to have charity for others.  I bet we'd all be much happier in all aspects of our lives if we did things with charity.  Just a thought.