“People who don’t take care of their families, have given up
their faith." ~ 1 Timothy 5:8
No one answered when Karl called
out after arriving home from work. The
silence was eerie. He raced up the
stairs to her room.
His daughter lay on her bed - eyes welling up with a sadness
her young years should not know. A
single tear fell from Sadie’s warm, butterscotch eyes, followed by another, until
soon, a steady stream of salty tears made its way down her small pale cheeks.
Karl scooped her up into his massive arms and held her until
the heart wrenching wails subsided.
“Cupcake,” he said tenderly.
“Did something bad happen at school?”
Sadie didn't want to tell him at first. She was embarrassed and didn't want to hurt her
father's feelings. He sat her gently
back on the bed.
"It's OK, sweetie. You can tell me anything. But you don't have to tell me your secrets, if
you don't want to. Is this a
secret?"
"It's not a secret Daddy. The other kids poked fun of
me because you're a garbageman. They
said your job was dirty and you smell bad. They said I stink too."
Jodie gazed at her Dad.
He didn't seem angry or hurt. His
mouth twitched as he fought back a smile.
"Well," he said.
"I guess they don't know how much fun it is to be a
garbageman."
"But your friends were right about one thing. Mine’s a dirty job; garbage is messy. Every day I see stuff so disgusting it'd make
you skin crawl. And girl, does it ever
stink!
But then we grab that slimy, rotten garbage and throw it in
a big green truck we call the ‘Monster.”
It growls and gulps nasty garbage.
Then everything's nice and clean, the way we like it. After a long hot shower, I'm as clean as a
toddler’s rap sheet.
Sadie grinned.
I love my job Honey.
And I like the people I work with, too.
But ya wanna know the best part?”
“Well, while most people are still working, I get to come
home, clean up, give your Mom a big kiss, and wait for you to come home from
school every ding-dong day. I’m so blessed!”
Now whenever somebody asks Sadie what her Dad does for a
living, she politely replies, "He's a garbageman!" And if they say "Ew!" or “Yuk!” she
says, "Everybody makes garbage, but my Daddy hauls it all away. Otherwise, we’d be to our eyebrows in garbage!
Work is God’s gift to us.
We bring glory to Him by working diligently and serving others by helping
Him meet their needs. In serving others,
we serve God. And that’s why our work
matters to God.
Lord, thank you for this job and the blessings
it provides. May my hands always be
prepared to help lighten another’s load.
Remind me that the quality of my work is a reflection of You to those
around me. Amen (by Mike Stevens “The Worker’s Prayer”)
