Odd Jobs

HighCalling Blogs is hosting a meme about odd jobs and what you've learned from them. I opted out because I didn't think I've had any unusual employments. Sure, I've worked in fast food, factories and office administration, but those jobs hardly qualify as unusual. It's not like standing around for hours in the name of science or doing anything that requires a gas mask. I've never been paid to sift through garbage or sniff flatulence. So, I decided to skip this group writing activity. But then Heather tagged me, so now I don't have a choice.

Here are the rules:

1. Write a post about some strange job you’ve had and what you learned from it.
2. Link to other “Lessons from Odd Jobs” posts around the highcallingblogs.com network, or quote them in your post with proper attribution. This isn’t a requirement, but it’s a fun way to get people moving around the network and reading each other.
3. Tag your post “lessons from odd jobs”—if you use technorati tags or another form of meta-tags.
4. Tag other bloggers by linking to them in your post and inviting them to participate in the meme. Tag as many people as you like—we’re not limiting this just to people in the network!
5. Link back to Lessons from Odd Jobs in your post and email this month’s host at “Marcus AT highcallingblogs DOT com”.

The trick to this meme is defining "odd." Is it rare or just unusual? I've had two unusual jobs that taught me much the same thing. Millions of people around the world have one or both of these jobs, so they're not rare titles, but they are unusual.

Being a missionary is definitely odd. First of all, you have to work your tail off to raise the money you'll work to receive later when you finally get to the field. Once you get there, the schedule is largely unpredictable and often dictated by others. As a missionary in Bosnia, I spent two weeks doing construction of playground equipment, one week distributing food, at least two weeks distributing clothes and school supplies, three weeks teaching English at random times, and the rest of my time trying to navigate the local government and the UNHCR without endangering myself or my hosts. My "work" consisted of drinking coffee (very STRONG Turkish coffee), trying to absorb a language (without a translator), being transported in tanks by French soldiers ... oh, and working with two Korean women (one of whom did not speak English) to lay the foundations for a church in an extremely Muslim region. While in French-speaking Switzerland I worked alongside "American" boarding schools with students from Japan, China, Greece, Africa, Germany and the Russian mafia. What languages did I study in school? Um, Spanish and Hebrew. No one spoke those. Nor was anyone fluent in American Sign Language.

The job of "stay-at-home mom" is just as difficult to pin down. At least most of us speak English in this house. Although, my kids are learning Spanish and Mandarin Chinese from TV. (Where was Ni Hao, Kai-Lan when I went to Switzerland?) The schedule, however, is just as crazy. I think I'm in control, but with two constant interrupters, I am often at the mercy of their moods and needs. Being a mother is definitely weird. My perpetual age is somewhere between 19 and 25, so that may contribute to my perception. Or maybe it's just that I never imagined this being my full-time job. Or maybe it's because this is the only job where statements like "Take that out of your nose." and "We don't hang things from penises." are perfectly in context and frequently repeated. I spent an entire week working with my daughter's pronunciation of one word. Unfortunately, my efforts accomplished little, so we forced her to say "Happy Easter" instead of "Happy 'erection Day." (Now, if she would just stop singing the "Shake, Rattle and Roll" resurrection song.) And what other occupation requires one to do a happy dance with each successful bowel movement?

So, what have I learned from these odd jobs? God is in everything. He's all around us. He wants to be with us and talk to us; delight in us and challenge us. It doesn't matter where you are, what language you speak or how mundane your tasks may seem, God is there waiting for you to meet with Him. Sitting under a canopy of grapes next to a bullet-riddled home, drinking the thickest coffee in the world, I learned to listen. I listened to the hurting hearts around the table (which was little more than a crate). I listened to their stories, their dreams, and in listening to them, I heard God. He showed me how to help them, how to serve Him and how to see me. The same thing happens when I listen to my kids. They have taught me so much about myself and the relationship God desires to have with His children. It's amazing what we hear when we ditch the schedule and just listen.

All right, now it's your turn. What have you learned from your oddest jobs? I'm required to tag someone, so Dale, Beverly and Karen -- You're IT.