Journal of Sacred Work

    "What the sun does simply being there, you must do, over and over, with a piece of flint, two brittle sticks on a windy plain where rain is about to fall."                                            – R.M. Ryan – (From a writing on the myth of Prometheus, illustrated at left.)

   How many Monday mornings has the alarm clock startled you with this question: "Why should I get out of bed?" or, "How can I face another day with that terrible boss of mine?" or, "How am I going to be able to make ends meet when I have so little money, so little talent, so little resources, so little…?"

   In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the character who defied the gods by stealing fire from Zeus and bringing it to earth. He was a champion of mankind and sought to help our existence. And he was punished for his theft – for his desire to make life livable for human beings.

   What do we do with the warmth and light that fire brings to us?

   The hardest life question is not "what," but, "why?"

   Why are we here? Why should we keep living our lives when "the rain is about to fall" and we are certain to die?

   Most of us have long since put this question aside. We know we are here, why probe further? But, those who continue to search may find a precious answer.

   One terrible morning in 1997, when I was out of work following the acquisition of the company I had been helping lead, I was awakened not by an alarm but by a harsh sun.

   "What's the point of rising?" I asked myself.

   It wasn't economic hardship that brought this question. Instead, I was face-to-face with a harder challenge: Who was I apart from my work?

   At the time, after three decades of successful employment, I couldn't figure out the answer to that question. I had made the mistake of merging my identity with my vocation.

   "I have no job, no place to express my skills, no reason to to keep on going," I told myself over and over. "My family is raised, my wife is fine, no one needs me. So, why continue?"   

      The root of these issues is contained in Ryan's brilliant words. Why do we go forward, "over and over" when all we have is "a piece of flint, two brittle sticks on a windy plain where the rain is about to fall."

   Caregivers have a glorious answer to the question, "Why?" It is because they are needed. It is because people are in pain and desperately hope for our help, your help.

   It is because God, who is Love, has given us the opportunity to help each other in whatever way we can. And, it is because we have been given the skills, the heart, and the strength, to offer our helping hands to others. 

   We may be awakened each day by the alarm, or by the sun, or simply because we need no more sleep. But, that is not why caregivers rise.

   What we do, over and over each day, is take our piece of flint, strike it against two sticks and try to kindle fire. And we continue to do it even in the face of impending rain.

   The question is, Why? The answer is Love.

-Reverend Erie Chapman