Have you ever caught yourself saying those words? I know I am guilty.
Maybe you have had to clean up a patient before taking them to therapy, pass trays to residents instead of taking your own lunch break, mop up a spill to prevent a fall…
Did you ever suddenly gain a campus halfway through the year? Has your “job description” changed every three months? Do you ever find yourself correcting the errors that others have made on paperwork to meet compliance?
Sometimes the paperwork never ends, the regulations and hoops never cease. I know I didn’t go to school to be a secretary or a compliance officer, what about you? Have you ever said these words…”I just want to help people!”?
1 Peter 5:2 gives us encouragement by putting this calling, our career, into a clearer perspective. Even though this text is about pastors called to lead a congregation, it only makes sense that God desires the same for us in our daily work. We should labor willingly, not under compulsion (or duress). Work in joy with aspiration and delight, not some obligation to duty. Hebrews 13:17 calls us to do our “work with joy, not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage” to those who we serve.
1 Corinthians 15:58 says that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.
Romans 12:11 tells us to “Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion.”
As a believer we can have confidence that God planted the desire to serve others in our hearts. He has given us the ability to serve through our clinical decision making and skills that have a huge impact on our patients evidenced by the affirmation of progress in therapy. God has opened the door to be where you are today. He has given you to the world, the just and unjust, to serve Him right where you are.
Does that mean if you do this the endless paperwork and schedule changes will cease? No. It does mean that if you put it in perspective and align your thoughts and desires with His, your attitude about it will change. Will it happen immediately or last forever? No. We are human. We require daily sacrifice, laying down our cross and taking up His.
Before you start your day, pray this verse. 1 Timothy 1:12 “I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank Him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him.”
Save or screen shot this next image and save it as your lock screen on your phone. Maybe every time you are tempted to pick up your phone and complain to a friend or co-worker you can “think on these things” and gladly get back to work with a joyful heart.
I pray these words are an encouragement to you at just the right moment. You are not alone. We are in this together. Join our FB group for SLPs who are faithfully seeking God’s will in their daily lives.
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