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Donโ€™t Drown (and other obvious advice for Labor Day)

Published on September 2, 2024
This post written by Katie Beth Miksa

Growing up in Louisiana, I was surrounded by water: two blocks to the bayou, another half block to the river, and pools in almost all my friendsโ€™ backyards. I think I was about six years old when my dad gave me the sage advice of โ€œdonโ€™t drown.โ€ It was hollered half in jest as I ran precariously down an old dock and launched myselfโ€”life vest securely fastenedโ€”into the muddy water.  Sometimes it is the most obvious advice that makes one feel the most loved.

Sometimes it is the most obvious advice that makes one feel the most loved.

Another drop of obvious wisdom came from Dad in the form of โ€œdonโ€™t work yourself to the bone.โ€ I think this was around the time I was spending hours shoveling shavings out of my horseโ€™s stall. I had to do that in order to remove the mats, so I could put lime down to dry out the wet soil beneath them.  He told me it wasnโ€™t going to hurt Scooter to sleep outside in the pasture one night anymore than it bothered me to go camping. It was an important first lesson in pacing oneself.

Labor Day as an act of love

Funnily enough, Labor Day seems to be in the exact same vein of obvious advice from Dad. Created in the wake of riots for better working conditions, specifically for shorter workdays, Labor Day began as a time to celebrate all that labor unions had accomplished to prioritize rest and safety in the workplace. Recognizing that our lives are closely linked with that of others, workers went on strike en masse to demand the changes. 

Firstlaborday large
Image from Department of Labor

Exhausted workers donโ€™t make safe products. Unsafe products donโ€™t benefit consumers. It is no wonder, then, that the beginning of the collect for Labor Day as found in the Book of Common Prayer states,

โ€œAlmighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common goodโ€ฆ.โ€

Book of Common Prayer, p. 261

Have you ever seen a pool covered by a safety net? The nets are stretched just perfectly across the surface of the pool so that a small child can jump on it and not drown. They are almost trampoline tight. The nets can even sustain the weight of multiple adults! Companies began making these tightly linked nets to benefit nosey neighbors, er um, I mean the common good. 

Our labor of love

Are we not at times called to be that net for others? Are we not to pay attention to our coworkers who might be treading water and take steps to throw them a lifeline?  This is exactly the kind of thing Jesus of Nazareth asks all who follow him to do.

The collect for Labor Day is again instructive:

โ€œAs we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers.โ€ We achieve so much more for the common good when we are looking out for and honoring one another.โ€

Book of Common Prayer, p. 261

May the Holy Spirit illumine your life and labor, may the Holy Spirit guide you to those in need of your support and care, and may the Holy Spirit provide you with rest when you need it. 

Amen. 

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