Good thoughts about labor...

I'm thinking that most people don't have inspiring thoughts as it pertains to Labor Day. We're just happy to have a day off work and perhaps enjoy some festivities. 

But somehow this day always stirs up gratitude for the somewhat convoluted trajectory my career path has taken. I won't start at the beginning, there's too much to tell. Instead I begin with my

move to Cleveland. 

I arrived here twenty plus years ago, having enrolled as a full time student in the photography/graphic arts program and Cuyahoga Community College, with the support from the unemployment bureau, since my grant-funded position in Sandusky had ended.

I had just transitioned out of a long stint in social services, the last position being the management of a crisis intervention team for adults with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and what was then called mental retardation. It was a deeply rewarding but very challenging position. 

It was a scary leap but those six months in school with students half my age turned out to be therapeutic for the weariness of working so many years in a challenging field. And it was a turning point in my, awakening a deeper awareness and appreciation for how I was designed to integrate my creative strengths into my vocation.  

Even then, I could not envision where it would eventually take me, to very unexpected places.  

For a time, I worked as a portrait photographer while continuing to explore photojournalism in a variety of contexts. After about five years of that I stumbled on an opportunity to use both my writing and photography skills in a communications position at The City Mission, as the writer, editor and photographer for the newsletter, annual report and other print and online media. Eventually that evolved into grant writing which brought further career fulfillment in being able to use my skills to raise support for worthy causes. 

Now I work for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, still in grant writing and after all these years, feel grateful that I am compensated a competitive salary and benefits for what I am good at and enjoy doing. Even more remarkable to me is that I arrived at this place without having taken any college classes in writing, journalism or communications. It was all a matter of trying to be sensitive to God’s leading and how he created me, with a particular set of interests and skills. 

My journey into this field started with my camera and a leap into the unknown. My camera is still with me often and continues to inspire and accompany my writing. 

There are so many twists and turns in my career path, many of them unexpected. But at every turn, it was clearly evident that God was going before me and being faithful to lead me through the challenges and uncertainties, and bringing fulfillment and delight in ways that I could never have orchestrated myself.

"...we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  Ephesians 2: 10 NLT