Do you remember those first days at work? As in first days that you ever did work? Not the paper rounds, or helping your parents out with their stuff, I mean the first days at work.
I watched my parents come from work tired. It was fascinating doing that for the first time myself. I did warehouse work which consisted of repetitive work: packing, stacking and then collapsing boxes and filling crates. I had no idea what I was doing and depended a lot on watching what the others were doing, especially those who clearly knew what they were doing.
Observing them gave me a good idea of what I needed to do and how I needed to pace myself for the work. Those first days were hard. It was tough getting into the routines and rhythms at first. It was difficult getting to fit in with the others in the workplace. I worked on a temporary contract as part of an agency. It was clear that those who had been in the warehouse for a while treated each other than they did the temps. It was understandable to a degree, but it still heightened the sense of difficulty fitting in. It was the best kind of job I was going to get at my age and with my lack of experience.
My sister had set a good example – working hard, saving up and progressing with her life even if it meant doing the kind of work that wasn’t pleasant. She had the right approach.
I struggled to get into that approach. It’s bad enough doing a rather menial kind of job anyway. Doing it in an environment where the people are not for you and there’s not support is very tough. It’s not down to anyone else, however, to pick up the right attitude. It’s not anyone else’s responsibility to get with the programme. It’s about what I do in that scenario and what I learn about God’s help for me that makes all the difference.
It made all the difference in that first day of work and it still makes the difference now in a very different working situation.
The principle also applies to so much more than the world of work.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 