I Just Made Chicken

I have heard it said that there is nothing better than to enjoy the work you do. Makes sense. It would be difficult to get up and get to work on time every day if you viewed your job as something you had to do out of necessity, and it really was not something that you loved to do.

Just the other day, I found someone who loves what they do. I found her at a fast food joint that I frequent. I frequent this place because I love sweet tea, and they make it right! Even though I am on a diet now, I cannot seem to give up sweet tea. To satisfy my need for good sweet tea, I try to locate restaurants in the area that make it "just right." After all, if this is my splurge item on the diet plan, then it's got to be worthwhile! So, I have my list of drive through restaurants that I hit on a regular basis in order to satisfy my craving. Bojangle's is a local fast food chicken and biscuit chain that just happens to have made my top five list of sweet tea joints. It was there at the Bojangle's on local exit 28 that I found the employee who loves what she does.

Here's the story: It was time to splurge, so I took leave of work for a few minutes and drove myself to splurgedom (Bojangle's). At the outdoor menu at splurgedom, someone I could not see began a conversation with me. She said, "Welcome to Bojangle's. May I take your order?"

I replied, "Yes, I would like a medium sweet tea."

"Would you like anything else?"

"No."

"That'll be $1.07. Drive around."

I drove around to the window where I saw the face that went with the voice. It was a young face and a rather happy-looking face.

"How are you today?" she asked.

Remembering etiquette 101, I replied, "Fine. How are you?"

Her response to my question was a surprise to me. I thought she and I were just playing that cordial "I-don't-really-have-time-and-maybe-don't-really-want-to-know-your-answer-I'm-just-being-nice" game that we sometimes play with people in passing. That wasn't her game, because with pleasure on her face and joy in her voice, she replied, "I'm good! I just made chicken!"

I laughed. I turned to see if she was laughing too, but she wasn't. She really was good, and the reason was because she really had just...made...chicken! As I took my tea from her and began to drive off, I laughed again. You might think that I laughed because I was about to experience the complete joy of sweet tea made "just right" for me. You would be wrong. I laughed because I had just experienced a taste of that employee's complete joy of a job made "just right" for her. I guess you could say that Bojangle's is my sweet spot for satisfying my craving for sweet tea, and it is her sweet spot for satisfying a craving we all have -- to love what we do.

The writer of Ecclesiastes adds commentary to this. In Ecclesiastes 5:18-19(NIV), he writes,

18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to
find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of
life God has given him--for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man
wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be
happy in his work--this is a gift of God.

Do you find joy in your work? You can if you view it as a gift from God, and if you perform it as a gift to God.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

"How are you today?" she asked.

"I'm fine. How are you?" I replied.

"I'm good," she said. "I just made chicken!"

Think about your work. What did you just do? How would you fill in the blank, "I'm good. I just ________________?" Did it satisfy your craving? Did you love it?

Ahhhhhh!!! Nothing like a good old drink of sweet tea, is there?