“MOM!!!!!!” Joey shouted. “Mom MoM MOM MOM!!! Guess WHAT!!”
“Oh my goodness, Joey, what is it! You are so excited!”
“OH, MOM! I was chosen for safety patrol! I get to be in charge of ALL the kids on the bus. AND I get to go to safety camp!”
“Hey GRANDPA!!!” Joey shouted as he ran into the den.
“GUESS WHAT!!”
“I just heard, Joey!” Laughed Grandpa.
“Congratulations! You will be a great safety patrol, your school is lucky to have you! When I was in school, the big fun was to be chosen to clap the chalkboard erasers outside! We would get out of class a few minutes early, go outside and bang the erasers together creating a big cloud of chalk. Sometimes we would chase each other around the school yard and try to get the chalk dust on each other’s backs!” Grandpa wistfully chuckled. “So much fun back then.” Grandpa hugged Joey and said, “I’m so glad I live here so I can enjoy all these new experiences with you!”
Don’t you just love the enthusiasm of September? January may have New Year’s Day, but September has a special place in all our hearts. Remember your excitement when you found out your best friend was in your homeroom class? Or that Mom bought a new box of crayons for your backpack? I remember the silly dilemma over a Partridge Family lunch box? Maybe the cool kids would have a Brady Bunch lunch box…Which to choose?
Ah, the wonders of September, when the temperatures cool (well, maybe not this year) and new school day routines are established. Right now, my Facebook page is full of shiny eyed kids holding up signs: “Look who’s in 3rd Grade!” or “I started Kindergarten Today!”
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success.
When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole
soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality Be active, be
energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object.
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Indeed, to do anything well, we must show a committed vitality for our pursuit. At AKOTA our hiring process is designed to find enthusiastic caregivers. We want caregivers who can think with joyful creativity for their work. We hire caregivers who are prompt, courteous, and engaging. Professional caregiving is not a job, it is a vocation: the ability to convey joy, empathy, and compassion should be equal to professional competence.
In a way, this is just like our faith. When I was at seminary, I said to my professor, “I know Christians are called to perform good works. But I know many non Christians who also do good works. What is the difference?” My wise professor said, “Anyone can do good. But those who are not motivated by a higher power will soon tire of their good work, and burn out. Active faith helps you engage the world, even in the toughest circumstances, and maintain your enthusiasm far longer than those without faith.”
The Apostle Paul said something similar a few millennia ago:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, "
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say,
"You have faith and I have works."
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
(2 JAS 2:14-18)
Faith provides the enthusiasm for works. Let us all cheer for the caregivers who combine their faith and works to provide the best possible care for their clients.
To learn more, contact us at www.akotahc.com
