Word Play: Priceless Labors of Love by Diana Derringer

Some work we love. Some work we hate. Much work we do as a labor of love.

A labor of love means a job with little or no pay.

Yet we do the work because we enjoy it or want to help someone.

I love to explain unusual English expressions to university students who visit our home or read my blog posts. Nonetheless, serving as teacher, interpreter, and conversation partner requires a tremendous investment of time and energy.

A labor of love pays in pleasure rather than money.

Other labors of love for me include:

• Cooking
• Teaching Sunday school
• Writing

No one pays me to cook.

Most people would not hire me. I cook because my family, friends, and I get hungry. For years I hated the job. My first thought when my husband and I became a friendship family to international students — that’s a lot of cooking. Other potential worries such as having a perfect stranger in our house, struggling with language barriers, or losing our privacy paled in comparison.

God definitely has a sense of humor and knows us so much better than we know ourselves. Some of our best times revolve around grocery shopping, planning menus, and teaching students to cook. Wonders never cease. Perhaps students savor my culinary creations since their alternative is mass-produced cafeteria meals and instant noodles.

Teaching middle-school girls gives me more joy than a paycheck.

Most people do everything they can to avoid that age. Yet, I look forward to time with my girls every Sunday morning. I have known some of them since they were knee high to a grasshopper. Their enthusiasm and passion keep me on my toes.

My pay as a writer probably falls below minimum wage.

Although some assignments pay well, occasionally I write for no pay, if I believe in an organization’s work. Due to life circumstances, I can no longer go on international mission trips. However, I can write radio drama that’s translated into multiple languages and broadcast around the world. Checks dim in comparison to the thrill of reading personal testimonies from people whose lives changed because of a series I wrote.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the checks too and hope they continue to grow. However, regardless of their size and number or the length of my resume, I keep writing. I can’t imagine life without this incredible labor of love.

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV)

Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Hundreds of her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems appear in 40-plus publications, including The Upper Room, The Christian Communicator, Clubhouse, Kentucky Monthly, Seek, and Missions Mosaic, plus several anthologies. She also writes radio drama for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, and friendship family for international university students supply a constant flow of writing ideas. Visit her at dianaderringer.com.