Contentment in My Work

Thursday 7/27/2017 7:11 AM

I have always enjoyed my work as a math teacher. I feel as if I were created for the job. Of course, as in any job, there are times when I become frustrated by the bureaucracy of education, but overall, it is a wonderful job. I am content in my work and, although retirement is inevitable, I am not longing for it.

Today I read a quote by Mother Teresa from her book Words to Love By that speaks of being content. “The work we do is only our love for Jesus in action. … If we pray the work … if we do it to Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, if we do it with Jesus … that’s what makes us content.” While I make no claim to have done this perfectly I have tried to see my work as something done for God. I am teaching people made in the image of God, who are children of God. If I can keep that in the forefront of my mind I am more likely to give my best, to work my hardest, to be more patient, and in the final say, be content in my work as a result.

Foggy Glasses

Thursday 7/13/2017 7:38 AM

I am sitting on the deck at Ryan and Kate’s house after having come back from my morning run. It rained during the night and this morning it was quite humid as I ran. I found it difficult to run and I stopped after three miles, hoping to cool down a little before I got back to their house. Currently I’m sweating profusely and when I put on my glasses to read my devotional material they fog up. The combination of heat and humidity cause my glasses to steam up, which inhibits my ability to see things clearly. The humidity and the temperature are supposed to go down over the course of the next couple of days. Hopefully my runs in the next couple of days will be more enjoyable and my glasses will remain clear allowing me to see clearly.

My reading today included an excerpt from To Walk Together Again, by Richard M. Gula. He writes, “When we begin to confine God to specifically religious areas of life, we are forced to turn away from the ordinary experiences of life in order to be touched by the gracious reality of God. Yet this is not the way it was for Jesus. The fundamental message of Jesus about God is that human life is the home of God. Do not look anywhere else.” One thing that has frustrated me over the past year or so is that I have little desire to maintain my daily routine of personal devotions. In the past, when I would go through a stage like this, God would speak to me through everyday things that occurred and passages of scripture would come to mind even though I wasn’t reading my Bible. Over the past year I feel as if God has been silent, not even speaking to me through my circumstances. It seems like my world is fogged over, similar to my glasses this morning, inhibiting my ability to see God or to hear his voice. I trust that as I move past the grief of losing my mom and the stress induced through other areas of my life I will again experience the reality of God’s presence in my everyday life as the fog that is currently inhibiting my view clears.