Monday, September 1, 2014

Labor and Rest

It took 176 scoop shovels of corn to make one batch of cattle feed, as I recall.  My dad worked for the Kreter brothers for many years.  Their mobile grinder went from farm to farm, preparing custom feed for the livestock.  It was a noisy, dusty job that required a laborer with strength and stamina to get the job done.   My dad had both . . . and feisty determination to boot.  I wonder how many shovels of corn he threw into the elevator in his working days.  It was exhausting work, but he took pride in it and the fact that he could support our family.

I remember, too, how work was so much a part of our lives.  When dad took a week of vacation it was often spent painting the wooden picket fence that marked the boundaries of our back yard.  Every couple of years we would take a road trip to Oklahoma to visit relatives.  It was the only family vacation destination for us.  And even while on vacation, dad would relish opportunities to work on the relatives' farms.

I know there is a lot of my dad in me.  The work ethic got passed along from father to son.  While I do not scoop corn into a bellowing machine, I also have a drive to work hard--sometimes too hard.  My ministry is not about manual labor, but about serving in ways that reflect God's care for the church and love for the world. 

I am fortunate to have more opportunities for rest and renewal than my dad enjoyed.  I get to go to many places both alone and with my family.  Even so, I know the value of putting heart, mind, soul and strength into my ministry . . . my work.

On this Labor Day, I am grateful to God for the ability to engage in work that makes the world a better place, that "keeps faith sweet and strong," as an old hymn taught me to sing, and that is a testimony to my love for God and for my neighbors.

Even so, tonight, as I prepare to call it a day, the words of one of my favorite psalms come to mind.  These verses help me to put it all in proper perspective and let me rest when the day is done.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
      Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, 
      eating the bread of anxious toil;
            for he gives sleep to his beloved.
 
--Psalm 127:1-2, New Revised Standard Version
 
 
May God give sleep to all who labor in love.    Goodnight!

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