I am an economist by training and have spent most of my career doing impact analyses and risk assessments- analyzing whether the risk (or expenditure) was worth the reward (or return). In the world of business and economics, everything has a price and is measured against alternative or competing options.
Last weekend my sheep were shorn and I have garbage bags full of sheep wool and for the past week I have been sorting thru the wool, removing the straw and poo pellets from the fleece and placing it in large vats of water with a bit of dish soap. This is the first step. Then it will be drained (by hand, squeezing out the fleece) washed again, then dried, then boiled in water, rinsed, then carded, etc. Last night, as I was kneeling on the wood floor of my summer kitchen with my Maremma sheepdog lying beside me gratefully nibbling on all the discards, I laughed out loud thinking about what I was doing. It was so NOT worth it worth it, from a business perspective.
But of course, I know that it is worth it. Those calculations of what is and is not 'worth it' fall apart quite quickly when you love. Working with the sheep and this being Eastertide, it is very timely to be thinking of Christ as the good shepherd. And what is the defining characteristic of the Good Shepherd: He will leave the ninety-nine to go after the one lost sheep. Now that is not good business. That would not pass a standard cost/benefit analysis. But there is nothing that so thrills the soul to think of what God would do for just one soul. He would have done all this just for one. Just for me. Just for you.
I recall years ago reading about the Israeli army going to great lengths and risking a whole brigade to save just one solider who had been captured. It was seared upon my mind as such a romantic, idealistic thing. And the reason that this concept resonates so deeply, I believe, is because it's true. Is not one soul worth more than the entire universe? Life is meaningful where the cost/benefit analysis stops.
The whole process with the wool is a labour of love- love for the work and the process itself. It's not the economic benefit of what I'm doing, because I know for sure that I could buy wool clothes from the store for less money than the time I will put into this. But is not life more than money? Are not the moments that make up our life more than economic units for sale?
GlenMary is a farmstead and retreat house nestled in the heart of the Ottawa Valley. Inspired by the Catholic Land Movement, the farmstead aims to produce food in a sustainable small-scale way using permaculture methods and the cottage production of local handmade products. The Retreat House is available for long- and short-term rentals and available for prayer retreats for those seeking some silence and peace.
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