These people really went all out (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Like many of you, I have spent time over the last few days trying to put up Christmas decorations.  It is something that I dread with the coming of Thanksgiving every year.  Yet, once I have all the decorations up and in place, I love the look and the joy that seeing them lit up at night brings to me.  So like many of you, I wish there was some magic button that I could push and the decorations would be in place (While we’re at it, the pushing of the button would ensure that all the lights work the whole time from getting them out of the storage boxes to putting them back away.).  However, we all know that such a magic button does not exists.  So every year, I begin the ritual of getting the boxes up from the basement, testing the lights, replacing half of the strands because a portion on each strand does not work, hanging them, and then spending the rest of the season fixing different parts each day.

This exercise in what may appear to be futile efforts has led me to think about all the aspects of life that take work in order to achieve a great outcome.  If I did not take the time and effort to hang the lights and put out the lit, movable decorations, then I would never get to experience the beauty that arrives each night during the Advent and Christmas seasons.  Relationships are another part of life that require work in order to achieve something of value.  You must be willing to put in the effort and to experience the joys and pains if you are going to have a beautiful relationship.

Accomplishments in education, careers, athletics  the arts, organizations, and other aspects of life are the same.  Each of these require work and effort before a beautiful outcome can be produced.  There are set backs and frustrations in each of these but the work must be done.  None of these accomplishments happen without the work.

So today I am reminded of the importance of the work.  If I seek the future beauty in whatever area of life I may be focusing upon, then I need to do the work.