Paradise undeserved

Proverbs 31:13 “She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.”

The woman described in this verse is a hard worker and that word “eager” means she not only does her tasks willing, but even enjoys them!

I started working for my mom’s cleaning business when I was 13 years old. Cleaning toilets, vacuuming, and dusting was hard work and I often whined and complained, despite the money I earned. My next job was working at camp clearing tables. Now that was a tough! I spent about 5 hours a day “working” in the dining hall and the rest of the time I was working on my tan at the pool. I decided to spend all my hours by the pool the next year and was a lifeguard. Any lifeguard will tell you how hard it is to spend all those long hours in the sun by the sparkling cool pool, getting bronze in the summer sun… well, really it isn’t hard work at all. Over the next few years I worked more job that I thought were very hard. I even quit a couple because they were TOO hard.

My latest job uses some of my previous experience, plus it requires the knowledge of some things I never even wanted to know about (all of them having to do with bodily functions). I’ve been working at this job for 22 1/2 months. I still find it more than challenging. Most the time I can’t even believe I got the job. I am grossly under qualified. It’s demanding and at times overwhelming; I am literally on

call 24/7. It is nice to be needed and I am constantly rewarded for my efforts (with priceless hugs and kisses). It is the hardest job I’ve ever had, but I get to do everything that I love.

Being a mommy is hard work. No one better disagree. But how often am I “eager” to do my work like the woman described in Proverbs 31?

Colossians 3:23 says,

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…”. Whatever I do? That means cleaning the kitchen again and again, washing countless loads of laundry, dealing with finances, going grocery shopping, training my child to obey? “Work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…”.

My job gives me plenty of opportunity to work, so next time I am tired and ready for my work day to end, I am going to pray for some of that “eagerness” to kick in and just keep going.