Labor Day

Here we are -- it's Labor Day. The day set aside to remember the working man and woman, the unofficial end of the summer. Of course, fourteen years ago Mallorie apparently figured "Labor" day meant the day your mom should be in labor, and made it her birthday. With the end of summer, we now have the end of all of our summer birthdays. Everyone is now a year older and it is the unofficial beginning of a new year in our house, new grade in school, new room at day care for Mary Elizabeth (she is walking now and getting ready to move to the Duck room).
In honor of Labor Day Pastor Beth talked yesterday about the role of "work" in our Christian life. I sat there reflecting about the role plays in each of our life. God intended us to work, Adam was created to keep after the land and animals and to benefit from it. It is for the glory of God that we work; however, as a society, we tend to forget that part and work for the almighty dollar. Jason asked me the other day -- if you could work at a job where you worked little hours and made little money, but enough to support your family, or you had a job where you made a lot of money but had to work a lot of hours which would you choose? I think in theory that is an easy one -- you take the one that grants you more time with the family, but then there is the subjective question about how much money is enough to support your family. That question is subjective in that we each have different expectations about what you wish to provide for your family. Perhaps sometimes we need to take a more childlike view (not a teenager's view) of our life in determining "How much is enough?" For most of us we have as much as we need, but we still want more, which is what drives us to work harder and longer and seek the "better" job, all of which takes us away from our family and separates us from God.
With Labor Day being our unofficial new year the kids and I have discussed hopes and goals for the coming school year. This year, I am going to remember the "life/work balance" and continually remember to respond to the question "is this enough?" "Is this enough time talking to the teenagers? Is this enough cuddle time with the baby? Is this enough family time for all of us? Is this enough for our family?