Day 16 — Work of Our Hands
- Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:13 — It is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
- Reflection: All labor matters—paid or unpaid, creative, domestic, caregiving, justice-making. Gratitude affirms that meaningful work offers dignity, and rest is holy.
Meanwhile, in a culture that often equates our worth with our jobs and professional roles, not all work is appreciated. Now all labor is honored with equal understanding.
How do we resist this? How do we re-frame, and notice the value of every job and every person doing a job of some kind, whether it’s compensated or volunteer, whether it’s tedious or trailblazing? Practitioner Kolleen Bouchane writes (full article), “When we do come to our work with love – either because our work represents what is deep in our heart, because we do our work in a way that creates joy and love, or because the gift of having work enables us to do other things we love (like provide for our family) — that love can open up a space to ‘do something’ with the pain and suffering we all inevitably find in the process of doing our work… It could mean …- finding a way to work joyfully without burning out in the face of overwhelming obstacles believing that to do so is an act of courage worthwhile on its own
- learning to really believe that who you are (and why you are fabulous) is more than what you do at work
- creating personal strategies for not getting ‘sucked in’ or triggered by the drama of a work culture that isn’t serving you
- taking refuge in building meaningful relationships with co-workers that are full of kindness and laughter even if it feels like the place is burning down around you
- just remembering to breathe and that this too will pass …
- upending the whole damn thing and doing something completely different”
- Practice: Thank someone whose work you benefit from today—mail carrier, teacher, grocery worker, caregiver.
Song:
- “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton: https://youtu.be/Pcm2yDp8XxI?si=y0lsJ6NYWhBybVyY
“Work is love made visible.” — Kahlil Gibran
Nov 16 Daily Devotional