Job

I don't know how many of you have pets but as you know, we do, so I end up talking about them when they do something noteworthy. This morning, I learned something from Gracie as I was watching her outside. Now she has been stuck in the house for over two weeks and has had to be on her lead whenever she went outside to pee, and to tell the truth, you can tell by looking at her that she's bored beyond belief. Dogs like Gracie need a job. It makes them feel like they are doing their part to earn their keep, and it keeps them from eating the toes out of shoes. So Gracie’s job is to watch the backyard and keep it safe from Earl and Pearl Squirrel, to ensure that peace and tranquility reign throughout the yard area. She chews her sticks, scratches at the ground and rolls with great enjoyment on her back. But she knows she has a job and that we trust her to do it. When I make her come in the house, you can see the disappointment in her eyes. I can almost hear her say, "Who will do my job if I have to come in that house?" 

So I thought to myself, “What is my job?” It's not going out and getting paid to do something. It's running this house and taking care of Alex and the herd. How often do we grade people or put them in categories by what they do for a living? So does that mean that because I don't bring home a paycheck, I'm lower on the totem pole? I don't think so! I think it gives me the time to do what God is really calling us all to do—notice Him and seek His face. I see the job that I need to do in praying for Carness and Alex as they lead our church. I see the job of being available to help out and to look for the needs and then fill them. But if I see it as a job, a job that I am called to do, then there is satisfaction in doing that job well.

 

Because if I don't do it, who will? Am I OK with letting someone else come along and pray for my husband? Yes. but that doesn't mean I don't have a job. It means that the hedge is getting built as more come forward to offer their prayers up for him. I found out yesterday that Nobel Hathaway has been praying for Dr. Dobson and his family every day since Dr Dobson started his ministry. That's his pledge of support. He says, "I have committed my remaining days to continue the ministry that Dr. Dobson's parents started. Every morning before breakfast, I have a 'one-man prayer meeting' for each of them." Is that not the coolest thing? It's his job! Dr. James Dobson is one of America's most renowned pastors, and he has Nobel to thank for it. So I ask you, “What's your job?” When you come to the end of your life and the preacher is talking about you, is he going to say a lot about your job?