My job can get really monotonous. Most days I pretty much just stand in one place and do basically the same task over and over for 7.5 hours. It gives me time to think.
Sometimes I just pause and look at the people around me. Maybe this is weird, but sometimes I just watch people for a minute. Working, walking, getting a drink from the drinking fountain (or bubbler for some of my crazy WI friends). My co-workers are a pretty diverse group of people, in terms of race, religion, personality, and age. This might sound odd as well, but watching all these different people doing normal, everyday things just makes me feel so much love for them. Even though at first we all seem to be really different, we're also very much the same in a lot of ways. I think a lot about the beauty of what God created in humans, and the love that He has for us. I was thinking the other day about the fact that God created humans in His own image, which means that in every person is some reflection of who God is. How cool is that? Even people who do not believe in or love the Lord receive so much from Him and are RIDICULOUSLY valuable because they were made by God and are loved by Him.
Which reminds me of Hosea, whom God told to marry a prostitute and remain faithful to her even in her unfaithfulness. I love this picture of what the Lord did/does in the world. The world has been so unfaithful to God, but what is His response? His response is Jesus Christ, down on one knee, saying He wants us anyways. He's essentially proposing to a prostitute, just like Hosea did. Who am I to reject people God loves this much? Who am I to question their worth when God has expressed such a desire for them? It doesn't matter who it is or what they do/have done, because at the end of the day God rescued me from MY hopelessness and depravity so that I could bring good news to others, regardless of THEIR sin.
These are just some thoughts I've been having while working lately. I want to try harder to be really open to getting to know the people around me and to love them well.
Side note: there's a Christian guy who comes in to work sometimes, and while we were working one night we were chatting about how I want to move to Taiwan and he looked at me and said "But you know, there's definitely a mission field right here, too. I definitely ain't here for the money..." It was really encouraging to hear him say that. Sometimes I struggle with thinking "What if I'm supposed to stay right here and reach these people? What if I go off to Taiwan and THIS is where God wants me?" ...but it just made me remember that God is able to raise up laborers wherever He wants to. He can accomplish His purposes without me...but he gives me the honor of being part of loving the people He loves and redeeming the people He wants to redeem. And there's comfort in knowing that even if I leave, there are still people at my job that want to love and invest in the people there, who are willing to be used by God. It's encouraging and strengthening to know that I'm not the only one there with that goal. God is so faithful in bringing His people together to strengthen each other.
Anyways, the point of this whole rambling train of thought: God loves us all. We are all worth a whole lot to him. Because I know that truth, it is my job to love God and love the people around me, whether I happen to be in Brooklyn Park, MN or Taipei, Taiwan. Where I am does not change what my purpose is.
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