Good work

As a firstborn, with tendencies towards tenacity, just-do-it-ed-ness, and people-pleasing, I love these two little words...

good work

We are all called to some kind of work: in the home, out of the home, in our families, with our friends, in our communities, in an office, in the quiet hours of a night shift, or in the bright hours of a day job that keeps you outside no matter the weather.

My thoughts are not meant to be a megaphone-shouting match to tell anybody what their call to work is (especially to other women), but what I do hope is that in reflecting on your place, your season of life (even if you are in the midst of hardship), you can embrace and see the goodness of the work before you today!

As I am in the midst of a change in my work, recognizing the good, the hard, the past, and what is to come, I hope to learn and grow through all of it.

My first job (other than babysitting) at the age of 15 was in a little bakery in my hometown that was within walking distance of my high school. I learned to work the big dishwashers in the back, I learned how to do some basic cookie and cake decorating, I learned how to clean all the cases, and work the register. It was a great first job!

Since that year, I have had some kind of job, except for some of the years when my babies were new! As the wife of a military man, my go-to job was teaching piano. I could take that job anywhere and find eager students to fill my home studio. We also homeschooled our crew from kindergarten through high school, and the flexibility of teaching fit pretty nicely into our routines. As the kids became teens, my focus shifted from teaching to other jobs outside the house. I love to be around other people, working in teams, serving others, so my call to work led me to jobs in churches, schools, the healthcare industry, and even a Taekwondo studio! Each new season brought a new challenge and new community.

Because I love to work, sometimes I would get in the way of myself, creating situations that were harder than they needed to be (especially during the years of homeschooling). I sometimes struggled with the "should I even be doing this fill-in-the-blank job?" Even as our teens were launching into adulthood, the act of having so many spinning plates would bring me back to that question: "What should I be doing?"

Here is where it gets tough...

The question of what I should be doing inevitably brings me to why I should be doing this fill-in-the-blank job.

The why. That's personal and sometimes problematic.

Back to the top. As a first-born, with tendencies towards tenacity, just-do-it-ed-ness, and people pleasing, I love these two little words...

good work

I absolutely love a good word of affirmation. I appreciate being appreciated. Are those things wrong? Nope. Can they get in the way of recognizing what the good work set before me should be? Yep.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe these words that the Apostle Paul penned in a letter to the Church in Colossae.

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. ²² Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,^[f] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. ²⁵ For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Colossians 3:18-25

Oh boy... there is a lot there in those sentences. But do you see that word halfway through it all... people-pleasers. Ugh. When my heart chases after the acknowledgment of others, things get out of whack.

God used a season of out-of-whack-ness to move Peter and me forward in a new direction.

To stop working outside the home and put effort into something that is just us (and truthfully, God...as He ordains all of it and is in charge of the rain and sunshine that we need to make the gardens grow) is new for me.

I am finding that the quiet work of the homestead—feeding the chickens and ducks, watering the gardens, digging in the dirt to plant something new, having time in the kitchen to bake, create, and make good food—is filling me up in a way that was unexpected. It is hard, make-you-sore-all-over work, and it never stops or takes a day off. We are embarking on a new season with good work that we hope will bless others as we seek to share in the bounty that comes and work with a sincerity in working unto the Lord.

What is the work set before you today?

Is it loving your baby through a day of unhappy teething? Is it trying to reason calmly with a slightly ornery teenager? Is it smiling and using a gentle voice to reassure your next customer in line? Is it managing a classroom of exuberant 5-year-olds, trying to keep up with their energy? Is it preparing a meal for a friend who just finished her second round of chemotherapy? Is it leading a team meeting in a manner that honors each person sitting around the table? Is it taking a breath and just making sure you are okay?

Whatever it is, embrace it and know that you are doing good work!