Today a friend tagged me in a Facebook video of Jim Carrey. In it, he says,
Risk being seen in all your glory. . . . Fear is writing the script, and the working title is I’ll Never Be Enough. . . . How will you serve the world? What do they need that your talent can provide?
All month, my working title has been I’ll Never Be Enough, as I’ve managed to fail at everything they’ve given me to do, and at even understanding them half the time. But today, on my penultimate day of volunteering, I have figured out what they need that my talent can provide.
Beauty.
The wine-making process.
My host makes wine in a little shed next to the garage, and a couple weeks ago, he and I began to refit a new piece of furniture into the shed. I began to sweep out some dust, then switched to the vacuum cleaner (*ahem* I mean Hoover), and finally decided what it really needed was a good, clean coat of paint.
Coat #1.
Once it was all white, I was quite pleased, but I knew I could do better. So I consulted with my hostess, who agreed with my plan and provided the paints. And today I painted the mural.
The paints were old, and there weren’t many usable colors, so it was a fun experiment in color theory.
(The extent of my color theory is primary vs. secondary colors, so that’s what made it fun.)
I might not be able to dig a ditch or weed a garden or remove a dead chicken from the henhouse, but I can paint.
I’m also the first WWOOFer they’ve had—in six years!—who can sew (which, frankly, I find shocking), so they’ve asked me to put together some new curtains for their windows tomorrow.
I came here to learn my place on a sheep farm, and here I guess I’ve found it. Paintbrush in hand, over a sewing machine, beside the Aga, sipping a cup of tea. Maybe I’m not meant to be a farmgirl after all, but it’s certainly been a good experiment!
Becca In Transit 
I am always amazed at the multiple and varied jobs required of farmers! Beauty, comfort, and grace are included. Glad you found yourself useful.
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Good paintings 🙂 xx
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Thank you so much!
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Some do the hard work that makes life possible.
Others make the art that makes life worth living.
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Thanks, Nick. I need to remind myself of that more often! 🙂
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Maybe your mission is to give of your talents to them! Maybe everyone can learn something from each person’s talents! Awesome!
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It’s so easy to think of your “thing” as just something to tuck away and ignore, but so often it’s exactly what’s needed in a given moment.
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This was a beautiful post – it took ’til the very end to know the answer and a whole month to discover it, but at least you found it 🙂 super encouraging to hear, especially as I consider how it might apply to other parts of our lives. Enjoy your penultimate/ultimate day of volunteering, friend!
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Thanks! Still not sure whether it was the thing they really *wanted* me to contribute, but it’s all I definitely knew I could do.
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Becca! I love how you’ve found a purpose that’s so different from what you’d expected… God has gifted you, and I love how you’re finding yourself in the midst of these unexpected experiences. LOVE. Thanks for sharing!!
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Thank you, Mandy! I was so happy to serve them in a way I knew I *could* do!
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Wow! Can you come WWOOF with us? We always assume our WWOOFers are starting from scratch (unless informed otherwise) and tend to direct much of what they do but sometimes it’s great to get someone with the urge to share different skills or work on things that don’t fit in the mold of organic gardening/farming!
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That is so kind!! Unfortunately, I had only a month I could devote toward WWOOFing, and I’m back in the States now. Your situation looks lovely, though. Maybe next time I have both extra time and money to volunteer, I’ll spend some of it at Plunton House!
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What a shame but do get in touch if you’re WWOOFing again. Pretty sure we can always make use of a painter and a sewer!
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I certainly will!
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