This photo was taken at Kymulga Mill, near Childersburg, Alabama.  This is a beautiful area with a large covered bridge sitting above the ancient mill that is still in operation a couple of times a month.  I found it very interesting to roam through the mill, and try to imagine the hustle and bustle that would have surrounded this place 50 years ago.  The local farmers would have lined up during that time to get their grain processed at the mill.  Today, the mill has to pay someone to use its equipment.  It is amazing what a difference a few years has made in this industry.

          Pictured in this photo is some of the equipment used at the mill.  Now they are covered by a strange combination of cobwebs and the dust produced from the milling of corn.  The machinery can still be used, but when it is used, they are merely going through the motions; and the only time it gets used is when someone is watching.  Sadly, the same thing can be said of many of us; we simply go through the motions and then only pretend to be working when the boss is looking.

          Let us realize what a blessing it is to work.  When we count our blessings, work is usually not at the top of the list, but maybe it should be.  I believe if this old mill could talk, it would tell a sad story of boredom, inactivity and silence.  We should never look at work as being drudgery, or something we must endure in order to make money, but as a way of life, a way to express our creativity and our love for our family.  With the proper mental attitude, any work will become a sacred occupation; when we work with enthusiasm, cheerfulness, singleness of purpose and a conviction that what we do really matters, any work will be transformed into a joyful expression of who we are.

          We have all been blessed with skills, talents and abilities.  What our skills, talents and abilities are is of little importance compared to the question of, are we using them.  The main thing is not what we do, but how we do it.  The real tragedy of life is not in being limited to one talent, but in the failure to use the one talent.  If you dream of one day doing a great work, perhaps we should begin by doing the small ordinary task that are daily at our feet.  If we cannot do something big, we can at least do something small in a big way.  Does not the man who moves a mountain begin by carrying away small stones? 

          Let us greet our daily tasks with eagerness, enthusiasm and cheerfulness.  Let everyone who observes us at our work today see someone who is enjoying life and living it to the hilt in every situation, even work.  Let them see someone who has transformed the routines of work into celebrations of love and a testament of faith.  What have we got to lose?

Something to think about:

• Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it.

• The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become.

• Cheerfulness removes the rust from the mind, lubricates our inward machinery, and enables us to do our work with fewer creaks and groans.

• The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

• The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are today.

• We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

Your friend who enjoys his work
Rickey Moore