Recently
we have had builders to the house
but at long last
the builders leave,
the walls dry-out
and it’s finally time
to paint the room.

Paul dons his painting clothes,
dilutes his paint
and the work begins.

All the awkward bits
are painted first –
the corners of the room,
along the ceiling
and along the skirting board.
Everything is going swimmingly.

Then it’s time
for painting the main parts
of the walls.
It doesn’t take long
to apply the first coat.
But as the paint begins to dry,
we can see
that it’s drying unevenly,
giving the wall
a dappled appearance
of white and grey.

Oh dear!

Three days
and several coats of paint later
the wall looks every bit
as patchy as before.

We are hugely disappointed.

I head off to bed
for a snooze
and as I drift off to sleep,
I pray to Saint Joseph.
He was a craftsman,
skilled in carpentry
and resourceful
when work didn’t quite go
according to plan.
Could he help Paul
to sort out the patchy walls?
Please???

Thirty winks later
I dander into the room
to inspect the state of the painting
and there, right before me,
is a perfectly painted wall!
Paul stands beside me, grinning.

“What did you do?” I ask him.
“Nothing!” replied Paul.
“I prayed to Saint Joseph”, I explain.
“So did I!” said Paul.

So there you have it –
Saint Joseph coming to the rescue
to help us out
with painting problems
in our wee house.

Isn’t that wonderful?
And isn’t Saint Joseph wonderful?
(I reckon that Saint Joseph
simply doesn’t get the credit
that he deserves!)

© Claire Murray, Feast of St Joseph, 2024