Sometimes work is just work

It frustrated me a little bit at Sunday school last week, because we were talking about vocational calling. The book had talked about finding a job where you can use your gifts, and my fellow Sunday school students mentioned you know you're in the right job when you are doing what your passion is and time flies.

I am blessed to be in a job that I love. Time often does fly for me, and I get to do a lot of different things which fits my personality. It is wonderful, and I feel like I fit right with what they were saying.

What frustrated me was many people do not have that luxury. My dad, for one, has spent 30 years in a job that he doesn't particularly enjoy. It is not what he set out to do, and I know that he would have rather been farming or doing something that aligned more with his interests for that much time.

However, he had a family to support, and he had a job that paid the bills. That was what was important. I will always appreciate that he did what he had to to support his family.

Nate's dad was the same way. Thirty years at UPS was not necessarily his "dream" where time flew by every day. Instead, he invested in a career and stuck to it in order to support his family.

Think of how many grandparents and great-grandparents never even thought about finding their "vocational calling." They got out of bed and trudged off to work, sometimes horrible work, and they did it to support their families.

I think this is a wonderful sacrifice and a sacrifice that the majority of people are called to. We shouldn't waste our lives looking for a job that leaves us fulfilled and makes time fly by. We should prioritize our lives, and if supporting your family is at the top, as it should be, then you make it work. You get up and you go to a job, even if you don't like it, and you make the most of that experience.

I think a lot of what is wrong in our culture is that people want to have the perfect job. There are lots of menial tasks that people won't do because they think they are above them and instead live off of what they get from the government or mooch off of family. They won't "demean" themselves to these jobs that they won't enjoy.

It's not always about enjoying what you do. Again, you should feel blessed if you are in a place that you truly feel called and doing what you truly have a passion for, but not everyone can do that and I don't think we should put pressure on people to find work like that.

Sometimes work is just work. If that is your kind of work, good for you for sticking to. Your family will appreciate the sacrifices that you are making for them.