Today I attended the funeral of a co-worker's husband. He was a well known community member and the church was packed. There early so that our staff could sit together, Ihad 30 minutes to sit quietly and wait. For those who know me well, know that I don't do either of those things well for 30 minutes. I thought piddling on my phone might be disrespectful so Iread every inch of the program and obituary.
On the front cover was portions of a commonly known verse in bible about seasons. Recognizing the verse, but not sure if it was a direct quote, I chose to look it up. On my phone. After all reading my bible should be perfectly acceptable at a funeral, even if it was on my phone. I flipped through my bible ap to the book of Ecclesiastes and hoped I guessed the reference right. Sadly, I don't have scripture and references memorized as well as I should but I was close enough this time.
Eccliastes chapter 3 tells of seasons. There is a tme for joy and a time for weeping. A time for planting and a time for harvesting. THat kind of thing. My version, not a translation. I read it and figured out that the front of the program showed a very loose translation of parts of the chapter but not a direct quote. That was what I was trying to find out. But I still had plenty of time before the funeral started so I kept reading.
Did you know that a man should rejoice in his work?
If only we all approached our "work" that way. Towards the end of chapter three in verse 22, it says this statement: "So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot." ESV. This wasn't completely new to me. Recently I'd been discussing it with the director of our local camp. We were talking about teaching our children to be responsible. She must have ran into this verse recently too because she was talking about taking joy in doing work. For us, that means our day-to-day jobs should be a way to rejoice. I like my job but don't get me wrong when I say I do rejoice when the work day is over. Maybe becuase I love being a mom and I know I'm headed home to do that "job". Sometimes though I forget to rejoice doing my job of mom, of wife, of home-keeper.
We can all learn from this. Even if you're not one who chooses to live life by the bible. This is a wise thought anyway, right?!?!? As I sit reading my phone, waiting for a funeral to began, I couldn't stop thinking about this life lesson. My kids should take joy in their jobs - which include making their lunch for the next day, folding their laundry, and taking care of their bodies by showering and brushing teeth. I should take joy in my jobs too. No matter what hat I'm wearing. Being joyful is one thing but it includes me NOT being grumpy, too tired, overwhelmed, etc.
I'm looking forward to putting this into practice. I will fall short. I often do. But it's a continual growing process and I'm eager to see the growth and the fruit of my labor.
Lost in life. Trying to rejoice,
Tamara B
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