Sweat and Earth

The last 48 hours I have smelled like sweat and earth... earth is a mix of grass and dirt. I am at Washington Family Rance- the Young Life camp near Antelope, Oregon. It has been a great week to be able to spend time with people I don't get to see very often and with Joel. (We have 5 months to go as of today, by the way.)
We are on college work week at the Ranch and we get to choose from various jobs to be done in groups for the first part of the week. It includes everything from housekeeping to cutting up chunks of grass and peeling the up with shovels and hauling them to a gator to be dumped at the greens pile- that's what we have had the joy to do this week. I am SO sore. It has been so great this week though.
It is easy during this time to see myself living a sacrifice- I want to be more like that in my everyday. Day in and day out- living life sacrificing, doing things that cost me. I am in a season of sacrifice right now in my life I feel like. It is hard... I'm learning... and I have a strange and unfamiliar joy right now as I reflect on it. God is so good.