They also serve: Appreciating the extraordinary ordinary…

A slightly different post this week, and why not? Most of my writing flows from what I’ve been thinking about, and this week it has been around the work that goes into making anything happen, and the number of people whose fingerprints turn up on any successful event. Most commonly I work with professionals – well educated people who are expert in their area and are used to being acknowledged and appreciated for the work they do. But more recently I’ve spent more time with those whose skills are sometimes taken for granted, and who have to get by on a lower wage – sometimes the minimum wage. Life doesn’t treat everyone equally, and often that has nothing to do with anyone’s attitude or effort – even though a good attitude and willingness to try goes a long way.

Rosemary and I are about to move into a new home – I call it downsizing but those with a more optimistic bent tut tut and tell me to call it “rightsizing”. Whatever, we are moving into a significantly smaller home and that feels right! But a smaller home means that many of the things that worked well until now will no longer be suitable. Our lovely 10 seater outdoor table will not fit on our much smaller alfresco area, we will no longer have a theatre room but still need a suitable TV and so it goes on. That’s a long way of saying we’ve been doing a lot of shopping! For me, that’s a challenge. No, it is not my happy place, and I trudge along to each outlet with bored disinterest, much to Rosemary’s frustration – for she is keen that we view every possible version of everything we might purchase, just to make sure we pick the best one. Well, I imagine you get the picture. It’s very testing – but here’s the thing. So many (almost all) the shop attendants have been super nice, super helpful, super knowledgeable and even super relaxed when we say we will still be checking at a few other shops before we decide (“No problem. You know where we are. We’re always happy to help.”) Amongst other things we are getting a new bed – and deciding on the right mattress was a time consuming process. A few went through it with us, and while we have now made our decision, only one of the several people who helped us got a return on the time they invested. That doesn’t feel entirely right, but we really do only need one mattress! Many gave us their time for zero return. That’s sales for you.

I guess there is nothing new in what I am saying. Paul noted it in 1 Corinthians 12 where he discusses different kinds of spiritual gifts and different ways of serving. Here are a few verses to think over: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God...” (v4-6); “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts: and though all its parts are many, they form one body” (v12); “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (v21-22).

What am I saying? I’m noticing the work and effort of a lot of people I often don’t pay much attention to. And I am appreciating them in a new way. And I am struck by how some are able to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary because they approach it with care, and enthusiasm, and kindness – even when they don’t get the sale. In their own way, they make the world a better place, and I am grateful.

So this post is to honour those whose work is sometimes overlooked, and to affirm with Paul that “there are different kinds of service” and to urge us all to heed another of Paul’s instructions in Col 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

Nice chatting…

Photo by Evgeni Lazarev: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-on-ropes-painting-building-wall-8971731/

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