We Were Meant to Work

I usually think of work as a synonym for hard or drudgery. But that isn’t really fair. Last Sunday our pastor reminded us that even before the fall, humans had work to do. Even in paradise, we were being challenged and had to expend effort. He believes that heaven will also contain the ability to continue to grow, develop and work.

Often, if I’m honest, I don’t want to work. I want things to come more easily.  I want the words to flow more easily, the children to play happily, the chores and daily routine to go smoothly (if chores must be done at all).  But that is rarely how things go.

Yet, I want to teach my kids that hard work is worthwhile. I don’t want them to look for the easy way out or the shortcut. Most of the best things in life will require work. My marriage doesn’t thrive on happy thoughts, nor does my household run on wishes. Sometimes, you just have to accept that hard isn’t bad. It’s just the nature of our world. In fact, things that come easily are often undervalued. It is the things we fight hard for that we could dear, because we recognize how much they have cost us.

What does it cost me to be the mother, wife and friend that I want to be? It is some of the hardest work I will ever do, but I want to believe that I will truly find it worth it in the end.

My kids learned an excerpt from a longer poem by M.A. Stoddard called One Thing at a Time. The excerpt is entitled Work.

Work

Work while you work,
Play while you play;
This is the way
—To be happy each day.

All that you do,
—Do with your might;
Things done by halves
—Are never done right.

I sometimes have to remind myself the truth of this poem as well.