Working Together At HomeSample

When Sean came home from baseball he found his stepdad under the kitchen sink.

“Come play catch with me!” Sean said.

“Hold on. I’m fixing a leak.”

Sean waited.

“Hand me the hex wrench.”

“Is that the circle one?”

“It’s the—Never mind, I’ve got it.”

Sean waited some more. “How long will it take?” he asked.

“Look, I’ll come out when I’m done working.”

Sean pounded his fist into his glove. “You’re always working!”

Each person has a list of things to do. When your list is different from someone else’s, there can be trouble. You might get annoyed when someone interrupts your work. Or you might get impatient with someone who’s working when you need them.

Annoyance and impatience make teamwork hard.

Jesus helped two sisters see this. Martha was cooking dinner while Mary talked with Jesus. “Tell her to help me!” Martha complained. But Jesus said No. Martha’s attitude was troubled. She was annoyed with her sister, and she interrupted impatiently. Family members can’t work as a team that way.

If your family has trouble working together, talk about it. Make time for relaxing together too.

“It’s time for a family meeting,” mom said. “We haven’t been working well together. How can we do better?”

Sean thought. “We could point out the work that other people are doing,” he said. “Like, thanks for fixing the sink, dad. Can I help you on your next job?”

“Sure,” said his stepfather. “And we should also make time to hang out and relax. Let’s put something fun on the calendar for every work project we finish.”

“Those are great ideas,” mom said. “What do you think Riley?”

“CUPCAKES!” Riley shouted.

Sean and his stepdad laughed. Their mom frowned. “Cupcakes make a mess.”

“That’s okay,” said Sean. “If you help us make them, we’ll do the cleanup.”

His mother smiled. “Now that’s working together!”

Try this: Think of one household task to do together as a family. Think of one fun thing to do together. Schedule time to do them both!

Prayer: God, thank you for the people in my family. Help us be unworried and attentive to each other. Bless us in our work and play. Amen.

If you enjoyed this plan, find more plans from the Theology of Work Project at www.theologyofwork.org/devotions