Employment

Some people I know cut down a tree recently. They sheared off all the limbs and cut the trunk into manageable pieces...and then they left it. After about a month of sitting, one of them asked me, "You interested in making a few bucks?" "Yes," was my response without even asking what the job was.

The job was to move the limbs, sticks, twigs and all brush from the back yard up a hill to the road to be picked up by the city. Then I was to stack the stump pieces in an orderly fashion. Having done this kind of work for two summers I responded, "No problem, I'll knock it out in a few hours."

A few hours turned into an entire day in the blazing sun picking up stick and huge limbs, loading them into a truck and then unloading them once more. Notice the size of the pile in relation to the truck. It's about the size of two pickup trucks!

Overall, though I sweat profusely, the job was somewhat enjoyable. I got a chance to be alone and work outside, which always makes me feel connected to the earth, to God and to most humans throughout history who worked manually. I'm reminded of Babara Brown Taylor's comments regarding manual labor as a spiritual practice when she wrote, "Digging down is as good a way to God as rising up, if only because you can feel it in your shoulders." Later in the same chapter she captures what I found to be true several hours into my day of labor, "Choose the work, and it becomes your spiritual practice."

This is but one of several ways I've managed to find employment during my time of unemployment. Elsewhere, my wife and I have babysat kids for a church a few Sunday evenings, I was paid to take one more on-call at the hospital a few weeks back, and a friend may pay us to babysit her toddler later this month. We've also sold stuff preempting a yard sale to make a few bucks.

All in all, unemployment so far isn't that bad. We'll need to get work soon, and I have no doubt we'll find it. In the mean time (I may regret saying this), I look forward to more opportunities for some good manual labor, because as I sit here, my shoulders still aching, I am reminded of God.