I Dedicate This To.. (Day 408)

Excuse the absence again my dear friends. Spring break was a time for me to disconnect from the world for a bit. Who knows, this may be my last year to ever have one so I wanted to cherish the time off. It was much needed and it helped me think through some parts of my life.

I came home after my five days off and I was in a slump. There were many factors that caused it but the main reason was just not being able to understand why I am where I am. So today I decided to try something new at work. I decided to dedicate that day of working to someone. That way when it came time to do a task I wasn't looking forward to, I could remind myself I was doing this for them instead of myself. I'm not sure if you tick the same way as I do, but I am able to work much harder and with a better attitude if I know I'm working for another person. I enjoy serving people whom I care about.

The other day my manager and I had a heart to heart. I told her I respected her so much more after seeing how hard it was to keep employees. She opened up to me about that struggle and in respect to her I won't explain any further. And so today, I dedicated my day of work to her. When I had to deal with a disrespectful table, I was able to smile. When I wanted to relax after servicing a table, I decided against it and went and put away dishes instead. When it came time to clean the bathroom, I went above and beyond. With everything I did I made sure I was doing it for her and not myself. I found that my day seemed effortless and the time flew by. I had more energy after leaving the restaurant today which meant I had more to give to my kids.

I thank God for this realization. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't read the scripture from Colossians the day before. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." (Col 3:23). I know that I spun it differently in the fact that I'm dedicating the work to a human, but as I do that I believe I'm still honoring God since I'm honoring one He created. I'm putting that person before myself which allows me to put 100% into my job and keeps me from grumbling. I think of it as laying down my life for a friend since I'm doing tasks I normally wouldn't want to do for them. It may or may not make sense to you, but to me my motives are only for good.

And honestly, this is another way to think of it, a light doesn't shine through a bad attitude. Dedicating my work to another means Jesus shines brighter through me.