Making A Living And Living

The best on the job training I ever got in my life came from a very special woman: my Mom. It happened when I was in my early twenties. I had just recently graduated from college but couldn’t find that well paying job I had been hoping for. With a wife and baby son to support at home I found myself reluctantly taking a job as a busboy in a local restaurant. I was bitter, sad, and depressed to find myself working there to say the least.

God works in mysterious ways, though, because that restaurant was the same one that my Mom had recently started working at after years of being a stay at home Mother. The first time I saw her come in the kitchen it was like an extra light had been turned on. Her smile was returned by everyone of the cooks and her gentle laughter and sweet good humor made the shift go by quickly. Her concern for her fellow workers made them open up their hearts to her and she was happy to fill those hearts with her compassion and love. She did her physical work well and did her spiritual work even better. And at the end of the day she seemed to have even more energy than when she had started.

It was both strange and delightful to see my Mom in this new and wonderful way. I had thought that I had learned all that she could teach me, but now I was learning something brand new. Me and most of the other workers at that restaurant were there just to make a living but my Mom was actually LIVING. Her job and her joy had become one. She cooked up love both on the stove and in the hearts of all those around her. She was doing Heaven’s work here on Earth.

I have had a lot of jobs since then. Some have been backbreaking and some have been inspiring but I have always tried to follow Mom’s example and bring my love and joy to each one. May you do the same and always LIVE while you make a living.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2010 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- submitted by: Joseph Mazzella ]