Make Me Like Joseph
I start my new job tomorrow. 8:30 am. Port Dover. Greenhouse. Not sure about it.
I already can admit fully that I probably won't enjoy this experience very much. It's not exactly my dream job to pick dead leaves off of plants and harvest hot peppers and sweep dirty greenhouse floors and pack plants into boxes under a deadline. I don't want to be watched to see how fast I can work on the belt with the dead-leaf-picking to find out if I deserve a $1 raise after 3 weeks. And worst of all, I'm afraid of working for a Christian family because it means I'll feel guilty if I really don't like it or want to call in sick for a day because I just don't feel like going into work.
I do realize that if I had a proper work ethic, I would feel guilty ANY day that I lied to not go into work or felt like my job was sucky. But the couple seems really nice and I'm really looking forward to being proven wrong about the possible dissatisfaction. Is that a word?
Then last night at Young Adults small church (small group but our church calls it small church), we watched a video where Louis Giglio talked about the two stories in life that we have to remember. The story that we see, and the story that God sees. We might think that we've been tossed in a hole or sold to Ishmaelite gypsies or tossed in jail...and at the time we might see it as a detour or something going wrong in life, but in God's story, we're just in the right place at the right time.
I thought it was cool but the main thing I really got out of it was Joseph's work ethic. No matter what his situation was; no matter what crappy thing happened to him, he was faithful and hardworking. And he blessed others through his slavery and his imprisonment, and in return, he was blessed. Everything he touched multiplied and grew.
And I thought, "Whoa. Talk about crappy job after crappy job. I have no reason to complain. And I have no reason not to do what Joseph did."
Imagine a life where I could be satisfied with where I am and what I'm doing because I know that no matter what, God's story is happening and I'm playing my part in it. Imagine how my attitude could change if I just decided to take every minute of every working day and bless my employers and my co-workers, knowing that I'm doing it just because it's the right thing to do.
I was thinking about random acts of kindness the other night, because while Katherine and I were playing pranks, we also visited the Tim Hortons drive through twice. Both times we randomly decided to pay for the order from the car behind us. Then I thought of the concept of paying it forward, and how maybe one day they'll do that because someone did it for them.
Imagine the blessings that could be paid forward, down the line, if I decide that I'm not going to grumble or complain about my repetitive, tedious little job that seems so insignificant. If I decide to give it my all, 100% of the time, just because it's the right thing to do.
I'm going to make a little note...probably that just says "Joseph" on it...and I'm going to stick it to my steering wheel so that every morning on the way to work, I will remember to pray asking God to make me like Joseph.
There was a pastor somewhere in the states who decided to challenge his church not to complain for 6 or 7 weeks or something like that. Nicki told me about it. The church made up these bracelets with some sort of verse on it, I think, that talked about not complaining about anything. And everyone who wanted to get involved got one. And each time a person caught themselves complaining, they would have to switch the bracelet to the other wrist and start their countdown over again.
Imagine a world where no one complained. Imagine a world where just JACQUIE didn't complain. That's a lot of eliminated complaints.
Maybe I'll try it. Even just for a week, for now. And then see how far it can go from there.
Baby steps.
Imagine how it could affect the world if even one other person read this blog and decided to try being like Joseph or wearing an anti-complaint bracelet.
I already can admit fully that I probably won't enjoy this experience very much. It's not exactly my dream job to pick dead leaves off of plants and harvest hot peppers and sweep dirty greenhouse floors and pack plants into boxes under a deadline. I don't want to be watched to see how fast I can work on the belt with the dead-leaf-picking to find out if I deserve a $1 raise after 3 weeks. And worst of all, I'm afraid of working for a Christian family because it means I'll feel guilty if I really don't like it or want to call in sick for a day because I just don't feel like going into work.
I do realize that if I had a proper work ethic, I would feel guilty ANY day that I lied to not go into work or felt like my job was sucky. But the couple seems really nice and I'm really looking forward to being proven wrong about the possible dissatisfaction. Is that a word?
Then last night at Young Adults small church (small group but our church calls it small church), we watched a video where Louis Giglio talked about the two stories in life that we have to remember. The story that we see, and the story that God sees. We might think that we've been tossed in a hole or sold to Ishmaelite gypsies or tossed in jail...and at the time we might see it as a detour or something going wrong in life, but in God's story, we're just in the right place at the right time.
I thought it was cool but the main thing I really got out of it was Joseph's work ethic. No matter what his situation was; no matter what crappy thing happened to him, he was faithful and hardworking. And he blessed others through his slavery and his imprisonment, and in return, he was blessed. Everything he touched multiplied and grew.
And I thought, "Whoa. Talk about crappy job after crappy job. I have no reason to complain. And I have no reason not to do what Joseph did."
Imagine a life where I could be satisfied with where I am and what I'm doing because I know that no matter what, God's story is happening and I'm playing my part in it. Imagine how my attitude could change if I just decided to take every minute of every working day and bless my employers and my co-workers, knowing that I'm doing it just because it's the right thing to do.
I was thinking about random acts of kindness the other night, because while Katherine and I were playing pranks, we also visited the Tim Hortons drive through twice. Both times we randomly decided to pay for the order from the car behind us. Then I thought of the concept of paying it forward, and how maybe one day they'll do that because someone did it for them.
Imagine the blessings that could be paid forward, down the line, if I decide that I'm not going to grumble or complain about my repetitive, tedious little job that seems so insignificant. If I decide to give it my all, 100% of the time, just because it's the right thing to do.
I'm going to make a little note...probably that just says "Joseph" on it...and I'm going to stick it to my steering wheel so that every morning on the way to work, I will remember to pray asking God to make me like Joseph.
There was a pastor somewhere in the states who decided to challenge his church not to complain for 6 or 7 weeks or something like that. Nicki told me about it. The church made up these bracelets with some sort of verse on it, I think, that talked about not complaining about anything. And everyone who wanted to get involved got one. And each time a person caught themselves complaining, they would have to switch the bracelet to the other wrist and start their countdown over again.
Imagine a world where no one complained. Imagine a world where just JACQUIE didn't complain. That's a lot of eliminated complaints.
Maybe I'll try it. Even just for a week, for now. And then see how far it can go from there.
Baby steps.
Imagine how it could affect the world if even one other person read this blog and decided to try being like Joseph or wearing an anti-complaint bracelet.