Value of Work

Working together as a family has the capability to transform lives, forge strong families, and build strong communities. I grew up on a ranch in south-eastern Idaho. I was taught at an early age to work hard as an individual, and as a family. As cattle ranchers, we move cattle from pasture to pasture down in the valley, or up on the mountain range. This has taught me to have good communication skills with those I am working with, because if we get mad at one another, that does not help with getting the cattle to where they need to go. It is important to know where we are moving the cattle, which is why communication is so vital. My family has grown stronger because we helped each other on the farm, and in the home; whether it was doing chores outside or inside the house. 

2006 Spring branding; 7 years old 

Little children can even contribute in small ways, like helping their mother with folding laundry, putting silverware away, or washing windows. I remember helping my mother clean the bathrooms in our home by washing the toilet bowls. I would also use our little playhouse dishes to wash and clean. 

This taught me the importance of keeping a house orderly and clean at a young age in my life, which I have now taken with me to college. My mother set a good example for me, and I look up to her for other areas in my life as well. 

Family work is humble work, and we come to recognize how blessed we really are. I have been blessed with a mother that taught me the importance of cleaning, and that in a spouse I want someone who is orderly and clean as well. 

It also helps us to learn to care for one another, and gives us opportunities to serve those we love. We learn to recognize the needs of others, and to put them before ourselves. As ranchers, we are constantly helping our neighbors with their spring brandings, or herding cattle. This has made our community closer. 

This Thanksgiving weekend, our family worked together on cutting firewood. We all had our different roles in helping, and we soon fell into place with what our job was. It took us about four hours to finish, but we finished we were glad it was done. Three of my nephews were getting on each others nerves at one point. My older sister took two of them aside and had a talk with them. They came back, and we all worked together happily. Working as a family helps us to solve problems, and to get a long. 

Cutting wood 2017 

Working together as a family links us one to another, and links us to God. John Demos said,

"God gave us family work as a link to one another, as a link to Him, as a stepping stone toward salvation that is always available and that has the power to transform us spiritually as we transform others physically. This daily work of feeding and clothing and sheltering each other is perhaps the only opportunity all humanity has in common. Whatever the world takes from us, it cannot take away the daily maintenance needed for survival. Whether we find ourselves in wealth, poverty, or struggling as most of us do in day-to-day mediocrity, we need to be fed, to be clothed, to be sheltered, to be clean. And so does our neighbor." 

When we serve other people, we are serving God. 

Working as a family links people together. We are given opportunities to recognize and fill the needs of those who surround us when we are doing tasks. Think of what good can come from a father talking with his daughter while weeding a garden. He could be listening to her and know the needs that she needs met. Something as simple as that can forge a strong relationship. 

I can testify that working together as a family has made me a better individual, forge a stronger family, and a stronger community.