Who Are You Working For?
"Help! I'm drowning!" Josiah jumped in the pool with his tube and paddled out to the distressed swimmer. Because the woman clothed in a red bathing suit had somehow flipped herself over, Josiah threaded his arms between her thrashing arms and torso. He pulled her onto her back, resting her upper body on the tube placed across his chest. He propelled the woman who was now a limp mass to shallow water, where he could pull her onto the pool deck and begin CPR. As he prepared to lift the swimmer, she clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Good job, Josiah! Okay, now let's practice rescuing a fully submerged swimmer."
My son, Josiah completed his lifeguard certification training recently. He spent hours watching videos, listening to his instructor, and practicing new skills. He is now certified in Lifeguarding (I did not make that word up), First Aid, CPR, and AED. In case you're wondering, I'm a pretty proud mama.
Josiah started swimming at a young age. Living in Florida, he begged me to go swimming at least 10 months of the year. He was a little fish with no fear. He may not love practicing his strokes, flip turns, and dives with the swim team 4 nights per week or waking up early on a Saturday to travel to a swim meet, but he still loves to swim.
I am one of those weird ones who love to work out. I love to go to the gym and perform an exercise or routine through sheer willpower that I didn't think I was capable of. And I love to coach. I grew up figure skating so my first introduction to coaching was in that sport. I loved introducing students to a new skill or encouraging them as they mastered a previously learned skill. I loved adjusting a student's posture so her position over the blade allowed for maximum power. And the lightbulb moments -- those are the best: that moment when a concept I've been desperate to hammer home for days or months finally clicks and the student responds, "Oh, I get it now."
I miss coaching figure skating, but I'm grateful that I have other opportunities to coach -- in life skills, mostly through our church as well as this blog.
Josiah wasn't the only person in our house to be certified recently. I spent the day at NC State learning the skills to coach clients in TRX Suspension Training. (If you've never heard of it, please Google it -- it's awesome!) Okay, so I may not have learned how to save someone's life, but I did learn how to help someone move better: to increase core strength, broaden range of motion, and stabilize everyday movement. I guess I can admit that Josiah's training might be a bit more important than mine.
Colossians 3:23 (NLT) says, "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."
Do you love what you do? Maybe your job isn't much fun. Is it just a way to pay the bills? Are you in a temporary position while you learn the skills or earn a degree that will help you to be promoted to your dream job? Do you feel insignificant while you raise your children, choosing to put aside a career for now? Whatever your situation, when we work for the Lord, we can find joy. Changing diapers for the Lord as we raise future followers of Christ creates a new perspective. Reviewing yet another spreadsheet within a tiny cubicle for the Lord, rather than a cranky boss, turns our daily grind into joy.
Whatever you do today, whether it's lifeguarding or coaching, changing diapers or scanning spreadsheets, I encourage you to focus on working for the Lord, finding joy along the way.
