Labor Day

"Come to me all you who labor and are weary and I will give you rest." [Matthew 11: 28]

Labor Day in the United States was established in 1884, as the first Monday in September. It is a day to celebrate our work, the labors that have made the country what it is.

I began working at the age of 13. I started a babysitting business in my neighborhood. My husband, when he was a boy, began working at age 14. He delivered  newspapers in his neighborhood.

I tell my young son these stories and he is astonished. He is getting closer to the age when my husband and I began working, and he wonders, will we put him to work too? And his young mind cannot fathom that anyone would want to "celebrate" work. No, our young son would rather spend as much time as he can relaxing.

Since when did work become a dirty word? Have you ever put in a good day's work, perhaps planting a garden, or painting a room, or helping someone to move? At the end of the day, did you feel tired, and sore, but you said that it was a "good tired'?

That good feeling, for me, comes from doing something useful, something that betters my environment.

This is how God wants us to see our work. Our labor betters our world. Our work is even a calling, a vocation.

When I became a mother and I quit my full time job in an office, to stay home with my son, I began describing myself as "only a mother". I felt that I was on the sidelines, not contributing to anyone or anything. I was not earning any money, I was not contributing to the workings of society.

I used to complain to a good friend that I wondered what my purpose was? As if God had some miraculous master plan for me-- only He was not telling me. Why was God keeping me at home, "doing nothing"?

Then my friend replied, Maybe it is your purpose, God's calling, to raise your child well.

I got angry with her for awhile. That's not good enough!, I protested silently.

Over time, I realized that there is no more satisfying, nor more important job than being a mother. It is one of the hardest jobs I have ever done, but it is an essential job. In fact, I hold my son's future in my hands. If all of us mothers raised our children well, what a wonderful world we could have!

I had been resenting my role, getting irritated at my husband and my son for all the work I had to do. I had been complaining about all the chores that I had to accomplish, how overworked I was, how I never got to sit down for a moment's rest, how no one appreciated what I did, how I was not even getting paid for my work.. blah,blah, blah!

Then, gradually, my friend's words began to sink in. Motherhood was not drudgery, not useless labor. It is a calling, a vocation. I began to try to see what I do every day as a holy and sacred ministry.

Over time, my attitude began to change. Now, as I wash the clothes, run to the market, make meals, clean the house, make sure my son's homework is done and get my son to school on time, I think THIS is important. My vocation of being a mother is offered up to God as a sort of prayer. I am more in the moment and I no longer resent what I was called to do. My labors have become like a sacrament.

And then I got to thinking, if mothers are often sacrificing all for their children, but all too often invisible, how many other workers are invisible? How many more of us think that our work does not matter?

So here is another radical concept from God. Not only is our work to be celebrated; everyone's work is important!

This means that the janitor who cleans the office building is as important as the President of the company. It means that the clerk in the store is as important as the man who owns the store.

Why? Because we are all sons and daughters of God and we all have gifts to offer to our world. I make it a point, wherever I go, to really see the invisible people in our society: the store clerk, the doorman, the delivery man, the office receptionist. These all are human beings, not human resources! When these hard working folks help me, I am grateful for what they have done, I smile, I say thank you, I make friendly conversation. I think, isn't this what we all want? To really be seen?

God, this Labor Day, I celebrate in thanksgiving the gifts and the work that you have given me. I offer my talents and my labor up to the world-- and to You!

(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2011. All Rights Reserved.