A wise friend commented on my last “Leading With Spirit” posting, about the woman who served me a mocha in the hospital coffee shop. Wayne said, “When we view our work, whatever it is, as a ministry, we are at our best.”
I hired a U-Haul once from a dealer who was unfailingly cheerful and polite as he was swamped by parents clamoring for trailers to take their kids to college. I asked him how he stayed so cheerful in the midst of all the pressure.
He said, “I understand it. Almost every time someone rents a U-Haul, there’s a crisis in their lives — someone’s died, leaving home and friends, getting divorced, saying goodbye to kids headed to college, that sort of thing. So if I can make a hard day a little easier for them, that’s what I’m here to do.”
I ventured, “Sort of like a ministry, huh?”
He said, “EXACTLY!”
Whether you use religious words or not, seeing how your work affects people in a powerful way is a key to inner contentment.