What is the work?

We bought our house over 6 months ago, a new experience for us - we've always lived in church-owned housing. So like every new thing, it's had a steep learning curve. It's taken us an inordinate amount of time to get tradesmen in to do some of the work we wanted doing. I suppose that comes from a lifetime of making do, and learning that we are now in charge! So today's work is the electricians' day, as they tick through a long list of items both small (new outdoor lights) and large (bad news about the electrical panel). I haven't yet seen the bill.

It is always fascinating to me to witness this kind of work in process, to wonder what contractors see as they look at your house, to compare what a day's work is like for me in my profession versus what they do. Early aptitude tests in high school demonstrated how little competence I have working with my hands. I'm feeling grateful that other people have more. And envious, a little, of workers who can finish a task and walk away. People-oriented work like church doesn't operate quite like that: I might meet with a couple and perform their wedding, but their project is not "done." I help people let go of grudges and find forgiveness, but that is rarely accomplished in a day. 

One person called parish work the "ministry of interruptions." You might start your day with a list of tasks to complete, but the interruptions are the real work of the day: the phone call, the walk-in, the email are really the job, because people are the job. Which, in the end, is how God works with us: we're never really done either, and God never gives up the work, whatever it takes. Which I am especially grateful for.