Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

1 Thessalonians 4:11

DEVOTION FOR TODAY, September 2, 2019

“…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands…”

Labor day, the unofficial end of summer, is here again. Today we honor the ones who labor by the sweat of the brow to make a living; and we pray for the many that have lost their place in the fields of labor.

In every community we recognize the people who carry the keys to important doors, who write the paychecks, and whose faces are known in public places. They are the leaders and visionaries, who we love, and with whom we fuss, and we also trust. But, we all know that the nation’s business would quickly move from success to helpless without the everyday faithfulness of the men and women who labor without applause or notice.

These warriors of everyday life rise up early, and some will work all night. They ride on the back of garbage trucks if the weather is zero or burning hot. They dig in the water soaked earth with hands that turn to ice. Some sweat by the side of the road to make the traffic flow; and the list is long. The laborers are many, but the appreciators are few.

Will you grab a cup of coffee and maybe a biscuit or donnut this morning? Do we notice when the lady at the drive-up window is smiling through tears as she tells us to, “Have a good day?” How do you go to work at five, get the kids to school by eight, and pay the bills with a check so small? What about the server in the restaurant who gets a deduction in the paycheck because someone walked out without paying the bill? It is easy to not know, or forget, what life can be like for the very ones that we need each day. God bless all who labor and are heavy laden. How can we show appreciation to someone who labors in the unseen world of our life every day?

“Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray