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For you and for me this Labor Day weekend is like no other in our lives. When we are not working virtually at home, our minds are working overtime with worry. With caring for others in unexpected ways. With sleeping disturbed by our anxieties and fears about our safety and the welfare of others. With being deprived of a sense of community and companionship with others because of physical separation. In seeing conflict in our towns, cities, states and nation which present unprecedented challenges in our One Nation under God. In grieving for those who have died during the Pandemic. In adapting to address the Coronavirus which changes and challenges us every day. The list goes on and on doesn’t it?
Personally, this Labor Day weekend 2020 is a big change for me and my family. Dorothy and I live in a three-generational home with our beloved daughter and three grandchildren. Because we have maintained very strict protocols, worn masks, safely-distanced and washed hands, we’ve had the blessing of being under one roof during the Pandemic. But, because our grandchildren are going to return to school and attend classes next Tuesday, it is no longer safe to live together. So, not because we want to but because we have to, Dorothy and I are moving to our bay home. We are trading our treasured family time of togetherness for a beautiful view of Tres Palacios Bay. The beauty of the bay cannot compare with being with those we love each day. We pray that we can return to our home in Spring Valley soon. For now, only God knows when that will be.
None of us like the changes forced upon us, do we? Yet, it is a relief to know that God’s love never changes and that God goes wherever we go to help us find peace. To restore ourselves. To accept things which we cannot change. To make the best of things at the worst of times.
For you and for me on this Labor Day weekend in 2020, just how much do we all need to find ways to rest our minds, our bodies, and our souls? Where do we turn for that?
Scripture in Psalm 62:1 says,
My soul finds rest in God alone…..
So, this Labor Day weekend and every day which follows in this troubled time of Pandemic, and to quiet the conflict within us, please let us remember to pray. In prayer we can surely find all the rest we need. From our labors. To replenish ourselves and one another. To find the strength to carry on. To renew our gratitude to God for the fruits of our labors given to us in God’s Love and Grace.
God, we praise You for giving us minds, hands, and hearts to earn a living and support those who depend on us.
God, please help us to be mindful that You are not just with us on Sundays but all the days of the week.
God, at our work places, at home and the office, please help us to be patient with our fellow workers and the family members who live with us.
God, in thanksgiving to You, may we use the fruits of our labors to make a difference for those who are out of work, without food or shelter, or are less fortunate.
Please help us to remember to give more to those who have less.
May we strive to labor in ways that always please You.
When we find our labor’s rest, may we take the time to be with You in prayer.
Last, we pray that, when our work in service to You is done, we will find eternal and everlasting rest from our labors with You in Heaven. Amen.
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If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.
Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.
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