Work. {Warning: Long, "Explanational" Post}

Hard work is a blessing of God. It involves going after it “with all your heart, might, mind and strength.” (D&C 4:2.) That alone is the difference between the average and the excellent.

F. David Stanley, "The Principle of Work"

I don't normally "talk" much on this blog. I usually leave all my "talk" for when I write in my journal. I think people don't have time or don't want to put the time into reading every word on a blog, so they just scan and scroll and look at the pretty pictures. And I'm fine with that. I may be the only person who actually reads my posts all the way through, and that's just because I wrote them! Again, I'm fine with that. This post is mostly for me. So don't feel obligated to read. But you're welcome to if you so desire or if you have the time. It's about work. My work, to be exact, and why I'm grateful for it.

Not many of you know what I do for work. I don't know why you would need or want to know, but I'll tell you anyway. I work at an insurance agency full-time to support my husband while he attends university. I've worked there for five years almost to the day. Now comes the elemental question I ask myself almost every day: Why?

I remember it was December of 2005 and I was a sophomore in college. I was at a classmate's dorm getting a group project final done, when I got a call from a friend and now-boss, Jay. He said he was starting an insurance agency in town and needed an office person, and that he had thought of me because I was bright, hard-working, humble, and a fast learner. I don't know what he thinks of me now, but back then I was keen on getting some extra money to play with, so I said I was interested. Of course, I was a full-time student, so I really could only work about six to ten hours a week. Plus I still had my job at the university library, which, in retrospect, was one of the best on-campus jobs anyone could ever have. I started working for Jay in January of 2006 and continued for a couple of years. Once I graduated in 2008, I prayed to know what I should do about work. I was really intent on quitting insurance and wanted to work as a graphic designer somewhere. But this was around the time when the economy was getting worse, and finding a well-paying job nearby as a freshly-graduated art student was virtually impossible. Jay and I worked out a way that I could work for two agents at once and move up to working full-time. That's how it's been since then.

A little about my boss, Jay. This will probably answer the "Why?" question more than anything else. I've known Jay and his family for a long time. I think I was ten or so when I first met him and his family. He is a member of my church, so I know him as a man of integrity, intelligence, and humor. He buries himself in service and always, always puts family and faith first. I've learned priceless lessons from him and am so grateful for what he's taught me. He IS the main reason I've stayed so long in this job. He's supported Franco and I through everything--our engagement {he drove us to a place in L.A. to buy our wedding rings}, our wedding {he was our chauffeur in his beautiful vintage Buick to and from our reception}, graduation, church events, family crises {if it weren't for his willingness and worthiness to give my mom a blessing minutes after her stroke, I know she would not have recovered the way she has}, and countless other ways.

As I wrote all the above, I felt a rush of gratitude to be working for Jay. {Yes, I am at work right now, blogging. Another lovely perk of working mostly alone in this little office. But don't tell Jay. It's slow right now anyways.} Jay and his family are the reason why I've stayed here. Why I haven't pursued graphic design and photography as much as I want to. Why I put up with insurance underwriters, demanding clients, and faulty computer programs. Why I've showed up every working day for the past five years to sit at a desk in a windowless office all day. Why I'm probably going to suffer from carpal tunnel the rest of my life.

But he's also the reason why Franco doesn't have to work more than a couple hours every week and can study to his heart's content. Why we can live on campus in a three-year-new apartment that has a washer and dryer inside. Why we can take day trips to get to know the beautiful state we live in. Why we have a pretty nice car to take those day trips in. Why we can live in California at all, minutes away from family and, less-importantly, the beach. Why we don't have to worry about students loans, debt, or whether I'll ever get laid off {Jay has said numerous times that I'll have this job for life if I want it. He's so nice}.

I really don't know why I deserve all this. But it's true. Though I gripe more than I should about the "sacrifices" I've had to make--mainly having time to establish my graphic design business--they pale in comparison to what I've been given--countless, priceless blessings I am often too resentful to recognize. And the lessons I mentioned before that I have learned? I can honestly say that I am more confident and able to deal with problems which arise involving narrow-minded, impatient people, and problems with normal people, as well. There are difficult clients who are now eternally loyal to Jay's agency because of how I've handled their problems. There have been some sticky situations, like in every business, and Jay showed me how prayer, faith, and follow-through can solve anything.

So this is why I work. This is why I do what I do for work. And this is why I'll be incredibly sad yet incredibly grateful when I move on to other endeavors later this year. The end of one era and the exciting start to another.