A Great Ministry

For a summer job last year, I worked for a funeral home in town run by Mr. and Mrs. Greathouse. They were unable to do most of the manual labor of keeping up the property, so I was able to serve them by weed-whacking, mowing, weeding, trimming bushes and so forth. By the time the grass stopped growing and the job was over, we had gotten to know each other rather well. It wasn’t just a job anymore; it was a ministry of love.

So the fall and winter passed; Christmas and the New Year came and went. Then in early January, there came a letter simply addressed “The Staddon Family, Buffalo Calf Road, Salem WV.” Because the envelope had no return address, I waited with curiosity as Mom opened it. The colorful greeting card enclosed contained a warm, hand-written message from Mr. and Mrs. Greathouse expressing their gratefulness for the work I had done last summer. Wow!

The colorful Greathouse greeting cardI was reminded that the same love you sow in service, you will reap in gratitude. I encourage you to take your normal jobs that involve normal people and make them a ministry of love that will live forever in the hearts of those you serve.

7 Comments

  1. Jordan Cutler in IN TR CTR February 1, 2007 at 3:38 pm #

    Hey there!
    I notticed your article and it has been really great! Your brother Robert is here and we are all learning having a great time with him!

    Keep it up!

  2. Kim February 1, 2007 at 3:40 pm #

    I enjoyed reading your article. It was interesting and encouraging.

  3. Lisa Foulke February 1, 2007 at 3:40 pm #

    I noticed your site. It’s very nice.

  4. Anonymous February 1, 2007 at 3:41 pm #

    Hey i saw your entry and i thought it was very good of you to do that! I am sure they liked it very much! That is so great how something like that can make a person feel so happy! I like what you said when you sow in love you will reap in gratitude because that is very true! GREAT JOB!!

  5. Alicia Gomez February 1, 2007 at 3:41 pm #

    Hey May the lord bless all the works that you do.
    Keep shining for the Lord

  6. Joshua February 1, 2007 at 8:54 pm #

    What an important asset to the Christian life! And whatsover ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Col. 3:23. When we are doing each task for God’s glory, even those that seem mundane, we are smack in the center of God’s will! Thank you for that timely reminder James.

  7. James February 4, 2007 at 7:19 pm #

    Wow! Thank you all for your comments. God gives us so many blessings that we often overlook many of them. God is good at giving us reminders though.

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