If i cooked in her kitchen wearing her outfit, i'd end up tripping into the big 'ol pot and becoming and being a part of the meal.
This photograph was taken at the E.D. Thomas School in southern India. Every. Single. Day. this woman stands barefoot in her kitchen and helps to prepare meals for the students. She finds the wood, carries it to the storage area, retrieves it as necessary, builds the fire and wields that huge pot. All with grace and beauty.
When i don't feel like cooking (on my modern gas stove), doing laundry (in my front load washer and dryer) or going grocery shopping (at the most convenient store in the world), i think of this woman.
She is a true missionary. Her job is difficult and thankless. She doesn't work from dawn to dusk. She works from 0:dark:thirty to 0:dark:thirty. When i wake up, look at the clock and breathe a grateful sigh of relief that i have another two hours to sleep; she is already up, stirring the pots. Yet, she doesn't complain and she finds joy in knowing that the stomachs of the children are full.
i want to be like her when i grow up
She doesn't have the wealth of the Kardashians, the style of Lupita Nyong'o or the fan base of Angela Bassett, but she is a star nonetheless. The world needs more people like her. Heck, the church needs more like her.
Willing to work hard.
Not seeking the spotlight.
Faithful and consistent.
Filling an immediate need.
Feeding the children.
And doing it all with grace, humility and beauty.
i think when the Holy Spirit moved Paul, who wrote to the Colossians from Prison, (but that's another story for another time) to pen the words
"Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters. (Colossians 3:23 TLB)
He looked through the annals of history and saw this woman in India at the E.D.Thomas school waking early, staying late, stirring the pots and making sure His children were fed. It sounds good. "Do your work as unto the Lord," but seriously....what about when you hate your job or your boss? What about when others around you are not working hard and you are already doing more than your share? What about when you are just plain tired? Oh, feeling a bit salty?
Yeah, that's another story. Or is it?
Maybe that is when we have to dig in and dig deep. If working hard and cheerfully were easy, everyone would do it and Paul would not have had to say it. There isn't a Bible text that says work hard when you feel great, and when you love your boss and your job, but there IS a text that says work hard and cheerfully at all you do. Paul, in the earlier verses of the chapter admonished husbands, wives and children. Here, he is speaking to servants. Let's upgrade that word to employees. When you work, don't cut corners, don't do just enough to get by. Work, he suggests, as if the Lord Himself is your boss. As if you are on FB live or FaceTime with God on the other end. And if that's not enough, be cheerful about it. Okay, Paul, you're pushin' it now.
Dang! That's some hard stuff right there. You up for the challenge? Let's do it. Let's approach our work today as if God is our boss AND as if He has us on live video for our entire shift.
Smile! You're on FB Live #InstaGod
*It's a pressure cooker, it's a steamer, it's a slow cooker, it's a rice cooker. It's Instapot! Seriously, this is the latest and greatest kitchen appliance. Does all this and more.