Tiller-riding Buffaloe

Tiller-Riding Buffaloe

Plans go wrong for lack of advice;many advisers bring success.

Proverbs 15:22

Bummed, I sat on the tiny concrete stoop at our back door. I longed for a deck or patio where our family could sit in the cool spring evenings. My husband advised professional help and/or careful planning before taking on such a major project. But, being headstrong and a tad impatient, I decided I could build a patio.

With my husband safely at work, I read books, took notes, purchased materials, made plans, and rented a tiller. A male neighbor provided the manpower to wrestle the industrial-sized machine out of the van and around to the backyard. Once he was gone, I threw a prayer over my shoulder and started up the behemoth contraption.

The engine roared to life and the blades spun and dug into the ground, sending seismic shocks through the neighborhood. I felt like a rodeo rider on a bucking bull. The thing dragged me halfway across the yard before I was able to firmly plant my feet. Unfortunately, once immobile, I taxed every ounce of strength I possessed as I wrestled to keep from digging clear to the earth’s core.

Five miles from China, I finally succeeded in shutting off the out-of-control, overpowered monster. Collapsing on the ground, I surveyed the potholes, chunks, trenches, and valleys marring our yard. Quick plans and a tossed-up prayer had led to disaster. Fortunately, after several weeks of hard labor with an understanding, sweet husband by my side, we created a halfway decent patio. I learned my lesson (for the moment), and the neighbors still chuckle about the wild, tiller-riding Buffaloe.

—Lisa Buffaloe

Heavenly Father, please help me to always plan carefully and to listen to the wise advice of others. Thank you for loving us even when we are covered in the mud of hasty mistakes. Amen.