{"id":408,"date":"2008-04-10T01:01:15","date_gmt":"2008-04-10T01:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/lessons-from-odd-jobs.html"},"modified":"2008-04-10T01:01:15","modified_gmt":"2008-04-10T01:01:15","slug":"lessons-from-odd-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/lessons-from-odd-jobs.html","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Odd Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of the HighCallingBlog.com community<\/a> are writing on lessons learned from odd jobs<\/a>. The questions are: What is the strangest job you’ve ever had? And what did you learn from it? As a member of that blogging community, I’m weighing in today. You can find links to other entries at goodwordediting.com<\/a>. There’s more info at Middle Zone Musings.com<\/a>. At any rate, with no further ado, here’s my entry.
\nWhat is the strangest job I’ve ever had? And what did I learn from it? I’ve been plumbing the depths of my memory, trying to remember strange jobs I’ve done. For a while I was a coin dealer, a numismatist to be precise. That was a little unusual. In college I cleaned bathrooms in the dorms. I did it for three years, to be exact, by choice! It wasn’t the most pleasant of jobs, but it paid very well and the hours were flexible. But neither of these was my strangest job.
\nDuring a couple of summers while I was in grad school, I worked as the junior high intern at Hollywood Presbyterian Church. In this role I took kids to the beach, counseled them at camp, rode down grass hills on ice blocks, and tried to help a bunch of hormone-driven junior high girls and wiggly junior high boys listen to my Bible lessons. That was an odd job, but it still wasn’t the strangest.
\nProbably the strangest job for which I ever received pay came as a part of a gardening gig I held while I was in high school. My employer was Mrs. Bivans, a gregarious, assertive, older woman who lived on a giant piece of property in Glendale, California. I spent a dozen hours each week mowing, edging, trimming, sweeping, and, well, you name it. Mrs. Bivans was always very business-like with me. She had high expectations and wasn’t above letting me know when I didn’t meet them. I’ll never forget one time when she was displeased with my sweeping. She told me I was doing it wrong, and proceeded to demonstrate the right technique with great zeal and speed. For a woman of about seventy years, she was a fast sweeper! (Last Sunday as I swept leaves in my yard, I did so exactly in the way Mrs. Bivans taught me some thirty-five years ago.)
\nOne day as I was toiling away, Mrs. Bivans said to me: “We’re going on an errand together. Grab some clippers and meet me at your car.” Obediently, I hurried to do just as she said. I had no idea where we were going. I didn’t ask, and she didn’t tell.
\nMrs. Bivans directed me down her tree-lined street. We made a couple of turns, and in a couple of minutes we entered a small cemetery. I parked the car where she directed, and we hopped out. Mrs. Bivans walked decisively in a direction I surmised she had trod many times before. At about twenty-five yards from my car, we stopped in front of an inconspicuous grave stone that was flush with the ground. There I saw the name of Mrs. Bivans deceased husband, someone she had never mentioned previously.\"gravestones
\n“The grass has overgrown my husband’s grave marker,” Mrs. Bivans said in a voice that was just a bit softer than usual. “Please trim the grass around the stone, Mark.” And so I did as she watched closely. I felt awkward, as if I had intruded into an intimate moment between wife and husband.
\n“I wish they’d do a better job keeping the grass trimmed,” Mrs. Bivans finally said, in what was a sad, tender tone. “They’re really letting things go around here.” I didn’t respond, other than to make sure my trimming was picture perfect.
\n“Thank you, Mark,” she said, finally. “That looks fine.” High praise from Mrs. Bivans.
\nAfter a moment’s hesitation, Mrs. Bivans turned and headed back to my car, with me in tow. We climbed in and started back to her house.
\n“My husband died two years ago,” Mrs. Bivans said without preamble. “He was a fine man, an inventor, a businessman, and a loving husband.” I wanted to say, “I bet you miss him,” but somehow that seemed to be too personal for our professional relationship. I simply drove along in silence.
\nWhen we returned to Mrs. Bivans’s home, she said, “You’re probably thirsty. It’s a hot day. Come on in for some lemonade. I made it fresh from the lemons in the yard.” Indeed, her lemonade was delicious and wonderfully icy.
\nAfter I finished my blass, Mrs. Bivans had decovered her professional, polite demeanor. “Time to get back to work, Mark. Why don’t you sweep the tennis court before you finish for the day.” And so I did.
\nI never returned to Mr. Bivans’s grave because I stopped working for Mrs. Bivans before the grave needed another trim. The demands of my high school life didn’t allow me to work as much as Mrs. Bivans needed. When I quit, Mrs. Bivans was complementary and encouraged me in my academics. “School matters most,” she said. “But I’ll miss you and your work.”
\nWhat did I learn from that strange episode in the cemetery? That my boss had a life. Beneath her professional exterior there was a grieving widow who missed her husband. For a brief moment I saw just a bit of Mrs. Bivans’s heart.
\nIn a work environment, even in a church or Christian ministry such as Laity Lodge, it’s easy to look upon those with whom we work as merely workers. They fulfill functions. They give or receive instructions. They sit in meetings. Yet I first learned from Mrs. Bivans a lesson I keep on learning: that our colleagues, bosses, and subordinates are also real human beings, people with emotions, histories, loves, and losses. Even as we maintain appropriate professional boundaries and demeanor in our work relationships, it’s helpful to see the people with whom we work. . . not just the workers, but the people.
\nThus endeth my story. Tomorrow I’ll add a P.S. on the wonders of the Internet.
\nAdded Note:
\nCheck out this fun piece on odd jobs by Robert Hruzek<\/a> of Middle Zone Musings. Also, learn how Marcus was a guinea pig<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the HighCallingBlog.com community are writing on lessons learned from odd jobs. The questions are: What is the strangest job you’ve ever had? And what did you learn from it? As a member of that blogging community, I’m weighing in today. You can find links to other entries at goodwordediting.com. There’s more info at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lessons-from-life"],"yoast_head":"\nLessons from Odd Jobs - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/lessons-from-odd-jobs.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons from Odd Jobs - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Members of the HighCallingBlog.com community are writing on lessons learned from odd jobs. The questions are: What is the strangest job you’ve ever had? And what did you learn from it? As a member of that blogging community, I’m weighing in today. You can find links to other entries at goodwordediting.com. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}