Self Care Made Simple.
Work: A Labor of Love
In a world that values the quantitative over the qualitative, it can be easy to think your work is not important if it doesn’t get a significant paycheck – or none at all! If this is you, I have good news. Your work is important!
The reality is that all work should be a labor of love. Any job, no matter how seemingly insignificant or undervalued, is beyond compensation if it is done out of love.
St Therese of Lisieux once said, “To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.” In other words, even the seemingly smallest of jobs, if done with an intention of love, can have eternal rewards.
That’s why here at Rooted for Good, we want to laud those jobs that don’t often get recognition. Here’s a short list of positions that deserve praise, because without workers in these under-appreciated fields, our society would most definitely suffer.
Teachers
Forgive me, as I selfishly begin this list with my own profession. This army is underpaid, overworked, and definitely undervalued; so, take some time this labor day week to thank all those men and women who teach your children and young adults.
Teachers of any age have positions, where they not only educate academically but also attempt (to the best of our abilities) to nurture the personality and even the souls of each of their students. While not every teacher lives up to their calling, I can personally say that there are many who dearly love their students and whose greatest desire is to see them excel in both the temporal and spiritual battle fields.
We see you, teachers and we thank you!
Medical Personnel
Here’s a well-deserved shout out to the essential workers that keep us healthy and safe. I was proud to share a rental with two nurses for a year of my young adult life (part of which was in the midst of lockdowns), and let me tell you, nurses truly do work around the clock to protect and save lives on a daily basis.
I remember listening to my former roommate who worked 3rd shift emergency room hours, as she told stories around the dinner table of how she had to administer CPR for a half hour, keeping a patient alive until help could arrive.
Amazing! Thank you, nurses and medical personnel, for all the sacrifices you make that often go unseen.
Mothers
It is honestly the greatest labor of them all and by far the most undervalued in our society today. No pun intended, whether you have physically labored to bring your child into the world or labored in love to adopt them, a mother’s labor is one that deserves not just recognition but full-throated praise.
Thank you a million times to our mothers for ALL their labors – both at birth and the daily unspoken sacrifices they make for their families.!
Our society tells you your work is unimportant – that it’s something a hired nanny or house cleaner could do. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Whether you are a stay at home mom or one that is also holding down a job, your motherhood and the love you show your children through the work you do for them is irreplaceable!
Love
Work should always be performed with an intention toward love. Thank you to all those workers who love the people and families for whom they work, especially if you do not feel seen or heard.
All of us here at Rooted for Good thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
With sincerest gratitude,
Anna Berlinger
"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."
-St. Augustine
