To Do Good Work

This morning I spoke with God about work and effort. Recently, I've found myself dreading both of these things. I've got a fantastic job, but I've succumb to laziness of spirit. The temptation to take shortcuts and barely scrape by have been far higher for me than usual. I remember interviewing for this job and telling one of my future managers of my passion for a good day's hard work, of how satisfying I found it to come home after a long day of faithful effort aiming at meaningful work. Over this past summer, I spent two weeks in India doing just this kind of work. In a foreign culture, in an opposite time zone, in a place so very far from home, I found special grounding in being able to do good work all day and fall into bed exhausted at night. These days, that fervor has waned and I'm longing for it back. So this morning I humbly asked for a renewal of my spirit, for that appetite for work to be restored. And in that moment God reassured me that today he'd provide me with that opportunity.

And boy did He! Tonight I worked 3-close, not one of my favorite shifts (personally, I'm not a huge fan of closing). After a long week of doing a whole lot of nothing, there's nothing quite like an eight-hour shift to shock the senses of one tempted to slothfulness. But instead of counting the minutes, I found myself truly engaged in my work for the first time in a while. Time passed quickly and, while I was completely exhausted by the end of my shift (which was a rather busy one), I felt invigorated and whole, like the way only a good day's work can leave you. James and his friend Will even came by to eat dinner with me on my break!
And of course coming home to a hug from Snacks the cat was pretty great too =)