Lord, I need, I want, to talk to You about work. I feel guilty when I am not working, and I feel guilty when I am working, like right now. Like sitting here at the computer since dinner, working on images for a potential special order. I was out of the house all day, working and I have been at it all evening, working. And Pete is watching TV by himself. So I want to go join him, in a few minutes–and then, I am going to feel guilty that I am not finishing this task at hand. I swear, sometimes I need to be two people. Or more.
You don’t need to swear. And you don’t need to apologize. And you don’t need to feel guilty–about either choice. The fact is, if you WERE two people, both of you would be feeling guilty! You would think, gosh I could get double the work done if only both of me were working!
Oh, Lord, You know me so well. I reckon it’s true.
Your worth is not based on your work. Your worth, your value, is based in the fact that I Who Am says, Behold, you are. Behold, you live. Behold, you love. Behold, I love you. Behold, you are worthy. The ego looks for reasons and comparisons. But the truth is, you are worthy because I Am Love and I Choose you–all of you. No one of you is more or less worthy than another.
You are My Workmanship, all of you. Do you remember what the word “workmanship” is in the Greek?
Lord, I do! I do remember. It is related to the word poetry.
Yes, you are My Poem, My lyric, My Word expressed in flesh, in personality, in gifts, in foibles. All of you, My Volume of exquisite poetry, My Workmanship. My Masterpiece, My Masterwork.
You who are artists refer to what you do in the collective as “the work.” Folks also speak of their jobs, how they earn their livelihoods as work. Labor of any kind has come to be called work, whether it pays or not. But when you switch gears and begin to think of workmanship, that is a different sort of question. What kind of life are you building? You need to build a balanced life. You need to build a life of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, analogy, with sweeping themes and grand ideals. You need to build the kind of life that, were it read or chanted, would bring vistas of delight and bold hopes and resolve into the hearts of the hearers or readers. Don’t undervalue your complete life. Do enjoy your work–but not at the expense of the whole poem. Don’t try to force a stilted rhyme or rhythm. You know how to craft a lyric. Let the melody and harmony lead the dance and suggest the rhythm of the words–of the work, of your life.
Gosh, God, I never, not once, thought of life like poetry. Thank You. That helps me.