Hello treasured friends,
I hope you had an enjoyable four-day weekend, and you were able to relax and have some fun. As we all know, Labor Day marks the unofficial day of the end of summer, and in the fashion world, is the day we are supposed to retire our white pants for the year, which some of us tend to boycott due to loving that staple garment. Summer is one of my most favorite times of the year because I associate it with warmth, joy, vacation, travel, nature, new experiences, family, fun, friends, gathering, and laughter even though we can have many of these things any time of year :) Labor Day can also be associated with having the day off of work or school and enjoying a long weekend. As I thought about Labor Day more, I wanted clarity on how this day came about, so I researched it more. I will include a short explanation.
Labor Day is an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.
As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.
Many of these events turned violent during this period. The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view.
The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1#why-do-we-celebrate-labor-day I have included the article from The History Channel if you are interested in reading more.
After reading about Labor Day, it made me appreciate even more what has happened in history to give us this day off. Can you imagine what people as young as 5 years old were going through?! The saying, "The struggle is real" comes to life even more when you think of the conditions that people were working in and through when the Labor Day holiday was put into place. There was much effort put into place to bring about this extra day off for many employees today, who are not even working in industrial jobs.
As I ponder further, the hard work people go through to make a living, and what people endure in their lives just to survive, let alone make it through their workday, I am truly astonished. The first thing I am reminded of are the incredible folks I have come to know and have seen working, in the skilled rehab center my mom is in. I am truly floored as I have watched many of these amazing people in action as they care for the elderly. Every career has its challenges but after seeing what these special humans do on the daily, I am beyond impressed and my heart is filled with joy as I watch them in action, and the loving attitudes they exude as they are doing it. Caregiving is no joke! These lovely people work so incredibly hard and are basically angels-on earth in my book! I am going to include the administration staff as well. Without these hard-working folks advocating for these patient's behind the scenes, they would not be getting the care they deserve nor be in a smooth flowing loving environment. I know there are bad eggs in every bunch, but I have yet to come across one, especially in this facility. I think at times all these workers hope for is to feel appreciated and hear the words, "thank you so much, I appreciate you!" Most people in these facilities are doing it because they have a heart for it. I am sure there are some who do not, but in general, my family and I have been so blessed to have experienced good care. Respecting and cherishing our elders or senior citizens in general, is so very important. Once again, I know there are some bad eggs in every bunch, but I believe the majority of the elders are good, but of course not perfect, no one is! There are several scriptures in The Bible that talk about the importance of respecting your elders. I know this can be challenge for those who have experienced abuse, but I will touch upon that later in this post. I will add a link below that talk about elders and scriptures that touch upon this subject. It is a good read.
Working or dealing with the elderly can be incredibly challenging. It is easy to feel frustration, because we look at them as being adults, but there comes a point in a person's life where they begin to circle around to being almost childlike again. They need much more assistance, their judgement is off, let alone their sight and their hearing, which can also get frustrating at times, "What...!?" LOL They can easily approach the stage of becoming helpless and dependent, but we have to continue to remind ourselves that this is a natural progression, and we will all be there one day if we live long enough. This is where compassion comes in, and who is the role model for compassion....Christ. So if we are to be more Christ like, we need to pray for compassion as Christ gives us every day. We can't expect to receive compassion and mercy from God, and not try and extend that to others. Perfection cannot be reached, but we can sure continue to be better in many areas of our lives.
Between 2020 when Covid hit until now, my husband and I have lost several close family members to illness, but not due to Covid. We were not able to have our eyes as closely on my father and mother-in-law because we were unable to physically get into the facilities they were in, due to Covid. Not being able to be physically with them, was heart wrenching. We have been fortunate to witness the incredible caregiving my sister and my mother have received in both the hospital and the skilled rehab facility. My heart goes out to any of you who have fallen into the same situation as we did, with not being able to physically be with loved ones during their hospitalization. It was terribly hard on all of us, but I can't imagine how difficult it was for our loved ones. I am fully confident that our prayers were felt and helped them better endure what they were going through. Just to know that God's holy spirit can bridge this gap, sets my heart at ease.
In the two weeks my precious mom has been in her facility, I have witnessed so many things I would like to mention. On separate occasions, I have walked in and seen staff giving my mom a hug, give a tender stroke to her hair or holding her hand while they talk with her, clean her when she needs it, gently moving her or helping her, listening and sharing in conversation, inviting and encouraging her to get involved with activities and leaving the comfort of her room, and taking out time to interact with any of us who are visiting her. They make it a point to warmly greet us and give us a friendly smile as we walk through the halls to see her.
I have come to see that LOVE, ENCOURAGEMENT and many other forms of endearment can be infectious. When you witness someone offering TLC and spreading CHEER, SUPPORT, CONCERN and CARE to someone, let alone a person they really don't even know, is beyond special. Who doesn't like to hear uplifting words and actually get someone's undivided attention as you share with each other. Yes of course they are getting a paycheck, but I can tell you, I am fairly confident, they are earning every dime they are paid, and most definitely not getting compensated for.
I will never forget when I walked into the facility one evening and saw one of the male caregivers playing kickball with some of the patients while in their wheelchairs. They were kicking and punching a soft colorful beach ball in the lobby and enjoying every minute of it. I couldn't believe how doing such a simple thing could change their demeanor and turn a frown around. Francis, the caregiver, had just as big of a smile on his face as the old folks did. He along with Santo, Maria, Isabel, and just about everyone that works there, have been
A-Mazing. On several occasions I have seen the activities director Luis, enter my mom's room and personally invite her or take her to the activities that he had put together for the patients to enjoy. He said that facility is like home to him, and he loves his job. Boy is he a joy to watch in action. I have personally witnessed how my mom interacts with the staff as well. She is always thanking them, complimenting them, getting to know them on a personal basis, and doing her best to show them respect and appreciation. I have seen how her doing that goes such a long way. There are others that do not show gratitude, but the staff shows them love and care as well. A warm smile or a short caring greeting goes a long way, It might seem insignificant at the time, but something as small as doing these things, has the power to literally make someone's day.
One thing that can block us from sharing these acts of kindness is harboring UNFORGIVNESS and not having a posture of HUMILITY. There is nothing endearing or pretty about Arrogance. Asking Christ and His Holy Spirt to help us in this area, will make a difference in breaking through that blockage we are experiencing in not being genuine in our acts of kindness. When we do this, FREEDOM awaits us and we can sincerely become a light in a dark world. There is a big difference between being genuine and just going through the motions. Beauty is not just skin deep, we need to strive to be just as beautiful on the inside as we are on the outside. Having genuine Humility, Kindness, and Compassion in our hearts, can be better than the best and most expensive beauty product we gather and take time to apply to our outer selves, to become more beautiful or handsome. What is in our hearts, actually reflects outward. God can make that genuine transformation to our hearts, if we just pray and ask Him to. This Godly beauty product is actually FREE :)
Matthew 12:34-37
...How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
I am so happy you joined me today. Thank you so much! I would love to get any feedback you have in the comments section or you can message me as well. I invite you to explore more on my website www.intoyourgrowth.com The "About" section will help you to learn more about my inspiration for writing this BLOG if you would like to read it. I invite you to click on "BLOG" to see more of my previous posts, as only a few are shown on the front page or click on "All Posts" to read more. If you view this on your cell, you can click on the brown square menu button at the top of the HOMEPAGE or you can use the arrows below under the most recent posts, to find more. I have added links in the FOOD FOR THOUGHT section as well. If you are encouraged by what you read, I invite you to "SUBSCRIBE" to this Blog (if you have not already done so) and you will receive notification via email when I publish a new post. I usually try to post once a week, but with everything going on with my mom etc, it can be bi-monthly. Thank you for your patience, support, and prayers :)
I am so appreciative of the feedback and comments my readers leave! I would love to hear how your are doing on your journey, so I welcome any comments in the Comments Section.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers for my Mom Joan, who is in skilled rehab for her fractured pelvis. She is making progress each day. She has had a fever the last few days so prayers for her are appreciated. I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers as well :)
Big hugs,
Jen Henry
You, Mike, your mom and your entire family are in my prayers Jen. You’ve all had a lot on your plates and have been handling the challenges with grace and love. Hang in there sweet friend and reach out if there’s anything you need.