This fall my baby girl went to first grade. It was a big change for her, but probably an even bigger one for me, because for the first time in 10 years (my oldest is 10 years old), I did not have a child at home to care for during the majority of the day. I thought I would relish the kid-free time, but it left me feeling un-moored and honestly, somewhat worthless.
There are a lot of messages in our society that say if you don’t earn money, if you’re not being recognized for your successes, then how you spend your time is not worthwhile. I could point to plenty of examples in the media, but the ones that cut the deepest are from people in my own life. Perfectly nice people will say things like, “I would be so bored if I stayed at home with my kids.” Or my favorite, “So what’d you do today?” I can guarantee that no one asks my husband that question because it is obvious that he worked all day; the implication when someone says it to me is that I didn’t.
Thankfully, my church (First Presbyterian) started a sermon series this fall called “Immanuel Labor: The Blessing of Vocation.” To complement the sermon series, during the Sunday school hour, there was a chance for people of different vocations to get together and discuss the joys and challenges associated with their particular kind of work. Guess what? There was a group for parents. There were also groups for retired people and unemployed people.
The message that my church was sending is that God does not care what you do, but how you do it. It does not matter to God how much money you make or if you receive promotions or awards. The important thing is to glorify God in all that you do — be a witness to him, use the gifts he has given you and find joy in what you are doing.
At the conclusion of the vocation groups, we had a gathering of all the groups. A representative from each group shared a little about their group and an elder prayed for that group. As we entered the gym, there was a music video of Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Do Everything” playing on the big screen. It pretty much summed up the point of our vocation study perfectly, and I loved that the opening lines talk about picking up toys, matching up socks and sweeping up cheerios.
