Chapter 11 has really struck me with a very real truth. I’ll get to that in a minute.
While I was growing up, my Dad had a job he loved. Until it was bought out by another company. Instead of letting him go, the company started making him miserable. I think there were some days he went to work and he had nothing to do for 8 hours a day. He became very bored, very angry, and eventually they got their wish…he quit. But before he left that job, we knew to leave Dad alone for 30 minutes to an hour after he got home. He was miserable. He stayed at the job because he needed to provide for his family. He had a wife and three kids that depended on him. The burden of the world was on his shoulders. I don’t know if my Dad really ever had a job that he really enjoyed after that. Maybe it was just work to him and a paycheck.
When DH and I married, we both decided that we learned something from our fathers… our work was not going to be that…it’s wasn’t going to be work. We were going to really enjoy our work, even if we were dirt poor, living from paycheck to paycheck, we didn’t want to work at any job just to earn a paycheck. We were both private music teachers…self employed, no insurance, but we were in love with each other, our jobs, life. We were tested by our families…especially when I became pregnant with our son 5 months after our wedding. “You should get a real job” … “You need to get a job with insurance”… “When ARE you going to get a real job?” … But we stood firm with our belief that we wanted to come home at the end of the day, and our son would enjoy two HAPPY parents who loved coming home after a long day to him.
Now about the real truth. In May of 2005, I taught music lessons for one high school and it’s feeder schools…and at the end of that school year in May, they decided to let go ALL of their private trumpet staff…which included me. Over the summer, I tried contacting other schools to see if they needed a trumpet teacher, but I couldn’t get a single bite. So knowing that we needed a second income, I went to a friend that was the director of a child care center. I asked if they needed any help. I started out subbing for her, but eventually that September, I was hired on part time…. which later became full time…. which later became an afternoon supervisor…. which eventually I became the director of the center. And I love my job.
You see, the realization I came to was that God has a season for everything. He knows who needs to be where at what time to make things come together perfectly to His glory. I had a vision as a child. When I grew up, I wanted to have 50 children. Yeah, seems really crazy, right…but it came true. When I stepped into the office that used to be my friend’s office and realized that the sign on the door … Director… that was ME…and at that time, the center had 50 children enrolled…. and I loved everyone of them like they were my own. I have now been Director of this child care center now for a little over 3 years. It’s has grown to 66 children at this writing. I love every one of them. I love my staff. I love the families. I love my supervisors. I feel that I am EXACTLY where God wants me at this point in my life.
Stormie is right. God has given everyone a job, whether you are a SAHM or you work outside of the home. Whether you volunteer or get paid for what you do. Whatever work you do, do it well to the best of your ability. One of my teachers came up to me the other day and told me that she has worked at several different child care centers in her life. She loves mine the best. She loves working for me. She loves that everyone loves her. I am sad that I am going to lose her at the end of December….but she is a pastor’s wife and she has work to do. I told her when we talked once that I couldn’t help but treat everyone, staff and families, like they were Jesus. At any point, any person that I come in contact with, could be the Savior. Like in Genesis 18 when the Lord visited Abram. Abram saw three visitors. At any time, anyone who walks into my life could be the Lord, and I rejoice in treating them as I would treat my Savior, if he were to appear. There is no other way to treat others, is there?
“No matter what your paycheck reflects, your work is important to God, it’s important to others, and it’s important to you.” Amen to that. Amen.
What did you glean from this chapter? What stories do you have to tell about revelations you have had in this chapter? I need to email my Dad…..
(PS… I am writing this during one of my “worship” times with youtube! It’s so easy to write that way!!)
Christian Nymphos 