But Jesus answered them,“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” // John 5:17

He shoveled half-heartedly, flipping his shovel into the snow bank. "I'm DONE!" he announced loudly, even cheerfully, before my knuckles rapped on the window so sharply I might have been pounding. "Your dad is still out there working; you need to keep going!" I hissed loudly. Pre-teens, amirite?

The Minnesota cold snapped your eyelids open, blistered your knuckles, and the snow in this kind of weather was heavy, heavy, and, yes, heavy. No one wants to be out there in it, shoveling and puncturing the ice pooled into a mini-pond on the sidewalk, a sure visit to the orthopedist's office for a banged up elbow or tailbone if you fell on it. But my husband was out there and our son needed to stay out there too.

Now Jesus didn't need the Blessed Mother firmly giving him the look to do His Father's work. Indeed, the pharisees wanted to kill him for even calling God His Own Father. But we know that for all of us, doing the Father's work whether it's God the Father or helping our earthly dad can feel like hard work. Jesus wasn't afraid of hard work, but I'm like my son more often than I'd like to admit, desiring a hot cocoa break and maybe a way out.

Maybe I can gossip my heart out about someone who bothers me.

Maybe I can keep swearing because it really makes my point and besides, who wants to be a prude?

Maybe I can just ignore all the people who are in need in my life because they're inconvenient and I'm justifiably tired.

The outs are endless. Sister, are you also at work as your Father is? Are you trying to stay in a state of grace, grow in holiness, be filled with His love to share with those around you? Ask Him how He's calling you to work alongside Him today.

[bctt tweet="Jesus wasn't afraid of hard work. // Nell O'Leary" username="blessedisshe__"]

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