Sacred Work

A few months back, when things were crazy-busy at school, I was thinking about my kids and the life we led just a few years ago and I compared it to our life now.  Back then, we had the luxury of being on pedestals, unfortunately.  We were revered for our choice to go overseas as missionaries, and to serve in a place where no one had served before.  In fact, I wrote about it here.  The reverence placed on our position then as opposed to where we are working now has been concerning to me, because in my mind, the service aspect of our lives have not changed.  Only location.

Back when we lived overseas and I started blogging, I took part in a blog tour with Marcus Goodyear, an editor with the High Calling.  It's a branch organization of H. E. Butts, from H. E. B. grocery stores.  Mr. Butts is a huge believer in the High Calling of the every day worker.  In fact, he runs a camp for those workers called "Laity Lodge."  He uses his work as a nationally known grocer to serve others and to glorify God in his everyday work.  Mr. Butts also has 30 second radio blurbs in which he encourages the everyday laborer to use their work to serve others and to show our love of God through the quality and character of our work. It was then that I started noticing the disparity between those who were professional ministers and those who served but worked regular, secular jobs.  The former had an easier time doing ministry because it was what they were paid to do yet they received the accolades, while the latter had a harder time with ministry because it was done in their extra time, yet they received no recognition for their hard work.  Yet through it all, it is because of the lay worker that any type of ministry actually exists!

See, the thing that bothered me to my core while I was an "overseas missionary,"  (I've never stopped being a missionary) was the sense of entitlement I saw in my fellow missionaries, even when they knew they were living better than most people in the states, let alone the people they were there to reach.  And even in that lifestyle, they would complain, or find loopholes in the system in order to gain financial advantages.  They would present themselves as living worse off than they were or being needier than they were, in order to gain sympathy from those in the States who didn't know any better, so that some giving, hard-working soul would hand over their hardworking dollars to them.  They knew that lay person worked harder than they themselves ever intended to, yet they greedily accepted the money. I believe there will be special consequences for those people. Even now it sickens me.

But I happened upon this book called Mission Critical: 90 Days of Meditations for the Marketplace by Dwight Hill, and it completely affirmed this thought process I've had for awhile now.  The book discusses how we as Christians have placed ministers and missionaries on a pedestal of christian service, but don't see the value in what we as lay persons do on a daily basis.  We see our work as a "necessary drudgery" in order to make money, when we should be seeing it as a way of life in which the nature of man "should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself, to the glory of God." (p. 11)  Mr. Hill writes that even Paul, one of Christianity's most famous and sold-out missionaries said in his letter to the Thessalonians, "You should follow our example.  We are not idle when we are with you, nor do we eat anyone's food without paying for it.  Rather, we work night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you."

I think back to my mom's grandfather, Reuben Shinn.  He was a minister.  It was what he was called to do.  So in order to minister, he had to work to sustain his ministry.  He worked as a doctor during the week, and on weekends he ministered to four different churches.  He traveled to each church once a month so that the ministry could continue and the people in those communities could have church services on a regular, albeit limited, basis.

My husband and I no longer work in overseas ministry.  But that does not mean we are not missionaries.  We see our daily work as a work of service to those around us, and a way to bring glory to God in the workplace by working hard, and having a work ethic that glorifies Him.  Do I have bad days?  Yes.  But there is always the recognition that my life is a testimony to others.  The work I do is a High Calling.  It is Sacred Work, and I'm thankful that God has allowed me to do it.  I pray our ministers today learn to connect with this part of the people they serve.  I know God will bless them for it.

Roadblock

*Click for the bigger picture* Photo by Big Dad

It's hard to see, but if you look on the rock at the right of the picture you can see people sitting there. It gives the picture some perspective.



Living in China is always an adventure. We learned very quickly to be prepared for just about anything. This is particularly true when traveling. While we might have embarked on a trip to the land-o-plenty (LiJiang), planning on a 7 hour bus ride, it at times would turn into much more. Road blocks were plentiful, as well as landslides (our bus driver would speed up to get ahead of them!) and flat tires or transmission repairs were the norm. We tended to sit at the front of the bus, as you were less likely to get pecked by chickens, and the locals didn't travel well. Sometimes we would hand out dramamine, if we had enough on hand.

On one occasion I was making this trip, and we had a road block similar to the one pictured above. It's hard to tell from the picture, but we were up pretty high, and there are no guardrails to keep folks from driving off the road. Passing on these roads was always scary, and I think there were occasions in which our guardian angels were pinching drivers to keep them alert or holding up bus wheels as they ventured too far on the edge. On this particular trip, there was a large backhoe that was clearing the road of these large boulders and putting them on a flatbed truck. I had no camera, and could kick myself for not getting a picture of what followed.

The backhoe needed to turn around, so it hooked it's claw on a small man-made curb and backed to the edge of the road. It's back half hung precariously off of the cliff at a 45 degree angle, and at first I thought this was the norm for them. These road workers are able to do amazing things. That was not the case, however. I began to notice a frenzy of activity. People began running places, voices were raised, and I soon realized that this driver was in trouble. It dawned on me that the life of the man was reliant on this little curb, and taking into account the weight of the backhoe, I began to get nervous. I watched the driver closely, expecting him to jump at any time. He didn't. He sat firmly in his seat. He never even made an attempt to get out of the way. He was committed to the job. Never mind that a drop of a few thousand feet was a possibility.

Eventually, the flatbed truck pulled under the backhoe, it used that little curb to pull itself up, and disaster was averted. As soon as the backhoe was safely on the road, it continued with the job at hand, and soon we were on our way.

My thought is this: There are so many people in the world who work and are committed to doing a good job. They don't seek the spotlight, nor do they feel comfortable in that position. They just want to do a job and do it well. They are committed for that reason. They are in all types of jobs and classes. They are people of character, and can be counted on to see through whatever is asked of them. In contrast, many times there are those who are visible, who get a lot of credit, but are not willing to work for it. They take credit for other's work, and for whatever reason seek the praise for the work of others. They enjoy the spotlight, but don't enjoy the character that the behind the scenes person possesses: the follow through, the commitment, the attitude of "I said I would do it. I will see it through". They too are in all types of jobs and classes.

I always wonder if the latter person would do their work if there was no recognition. I think that would be a true test to their motives. As for this man, his motives, his character and his commitment were clear. I have no idea if he sat by the fire that night and discussed the day's events. I have the feeling that it was forgotten the next day, and became just another story in the life of a road worker. All I know is we were quickly on our way, because this worker did his job. It amazes me still to this day. Sometimes the world puts us to shame.

Character quotes I've found interesting

People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.
Elmer G. Letterman

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller (1880 - 1968) This one actually means more when you know who said it!

I appreciate people who are civil, whether they mean it or not. I think: Be civil. Do not cherish your opinion over my feelings. There's a vanity to candor that isn't really worth it. Be kind.
Richard Greenberg amen!
(Do I really know anyone who agrees with every single thing I do? Of course not. It's OK to disagree. There is something freeing about open discourse, don't you think?)

Faces and Hands

Anna, over at her site, was able to capture two of my favorite subjects in a picture: faces and hands. She was riding a bus in London and captured an old Sikh man she met along the way. The pictures are stunning...please go take a look.

I mentioned on her blog that I like to see pictures of faces and hands, and promised to post a few of my favorites. Old people are a particularly favorite subject, because the lines in their faces show so much character. I really don't think I'm going to be the kind of person who nips and tucks wrinkles. They speak so much about a person's life, and in the end, they will tell my story, I think.

Hands show a lot about a person as well. While I admire pretty hands, the ones that capture my attention are the ones that tell a story. The hands with the tattoos (above) are interesting because they tell which village this person belongs to. If she were ever taken captive, anyone who rescued her would know where she belonged. The smaller hands are of particular interest to me. They are worn and shabby, with years of hard labor represented in them. The kicker is that they belong to a 10 year old girl.