A Nursery Worker's Thanks

The following was read at Hanover Friends Church in Mechanicsville, Virginia during their banquet honoring Nursery Workers. We thought it should be shared with Nursery Workers across the Eastern Region. Special Thanks to David Crisp for this original composition.

Someday soon, when Christ returns in His glory, with all His angels with Him, He will sit on a glorious throne and all the nations will be brought before him.

Then He will separate them left and right, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Jesus will say to those on His right, "Come, you blessed of my Father and enter into the kingdom prepared for you before the world was created - for I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I had no clothes and you gave me something to wear, I was sick and you visited me, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Then they will answer him, "but Lord, when did we ever do any of those things for you?" and Jesus will say, "Whenever you did it for one of the least of my brothers, you did it for me."

The "least"... the smallest ones, the insignificant ones, the ones with no voice and no standing, those whom society deems expendable, warehouse fodder, a nuisance - these are the ones Jesus identifies with.

This is how the Creator came: a small insignificant one without station of sophistication, cradled in a trough, in need of care, feeding, nurturing, covering, loving. Jesus was a baby, an infant, a child. This is how He lived: an utterly God-dependent homeless man, a penniless vagabond that the world did not receive. He shocked the establishment with a dangerous notion that in God's economy the "least" are the greatest.

Jesus sees what you do, and in fact, more than seeing - He receives what you do.

When you change a child's soiled clothes, calm a broken heart, soothe anxious nerves, fix a snack, or quietly clean up a mess, Jesus receives. He feels your loving arms, hears your calm voice, sees your caring eyes, and takes your acts of kindness to His own heart.

You might think, "But I'm only filling a slot, doing an insignificant job, no one really cares."

The most menial of tasks becomes glorious servitude when we grasp the truth that the recipient of your labors is the King of Kings. His mother labored to deliver, His father protected, John baptized, disciples followed, a woman washed his feet and anointed him for burial, a rich man gave his tomb, a poor boy gave his lunch. Insignificant? Unimportant? Done hundreds of times each day? Yes it's true. Each act was a common occurrence. But these common acts were rendered holy, not because of what was done, but sanctified by the nail-scarred hand which received them.

Your job is no less holy. The Word says so! Every runny nose lovingly wiped, every toy cheerfully stacked, every lullaby graciously sung, blesses the Lord. For we are told, "and whatever you do, whether it be with words you say or the things you do, do it as though you were doing it for the Lord" - because in reality, you are.

"Whenever you did it for one of the least of my brothers... you did it for me."