Fruits of our labor

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous"...Aristotle

I gathered the above veggies out of my garden for lunch, and was so struck by their beauty, color and form, I just had to take a picture...Soon after, I scrubbed, chopped and plopped them into a pot with water, making rich, thick, tasty vegetable soup. See the luxurious, plum color of the eggplant at left, and the eye-popping orange of the first carrots I've ever successfully grown. I recently blogged, "Walking with God in the Garden," but my garden is so like a jungle now, "walking" is out of the question. I play Twister with squash and cucumber vines, creeping, stooping or balancing precariously and bobbing like one of those goofy drinking birds, to harvest the fruit. By the time I've loaded my basket full of good things, I've gotten quite a workout navigating my organic obstacle course. I have pumpkins growing up arbor vitae! I guess more trellises are in order.

Oh, if we could always see such tangible fruits of our labor! But never fear, even when we don't see results, labor is good for us. Labor...it's our very nature. And, as Aristotle said, it can be "marvelous."

"...man, created in the image of God, shares by his work in the activity of the Creator," wrote Blessed John Paul II in his encyclical Laborem Exercens. This year marks the 30th anniversary of this powerful document exploring the dignity of work. 

Spending most our lives in labor, it forms us, yet should never enslave us:

No labor's lost

Labor

defining days

often, unavoidably, evenings

Varied, intense, exhilarating

repetitious, draining, dry

We are made for this

digging deep into labor

sparks the soul 

plants and waters

the nourishing kernel that makes us whole

enervates each day

If deadly dull, seek meaning

Each task done bitterly

drains life

like a schoolyard insult

signals opportunity lost

Duty done boldly

like a toe reach over that final hurdle

or the last notes breathed by symphony players

outdoors on a humid evening

ennobles

Duty dignifies

if done heartily

with humor

purpose

and for that one great goal

a sigh to God

and the uplifting

beautifying

sanctifying

of humanity

Labor saves

Simplifies

Yes, and can even

be savored

By Marianna Bartholomew

"Entrust your works to the Lord and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

Happy Labor Day!