Sacred Jobs

posted on

January 23, 2024

Polyface is currently a winter wonderland. 

The pond is frozen over, the valleys and hills are dressed in sparkling white snow, and the sun glistens brightly over it all. The pigs and cows are in the barns, cozily bedded down for the cold winter, and we have started feeding hay. We are in the season of long chores and constant tending to the animals.

  As we enter this time of throwing hay, filling waterers, washing eggs, and bedding the barns, we remember that every single job is sacred. Our goal is to provide for our animals so they can live happy, healthy, and productive lives and, in turn, provide high-quality and delicious meat and eggs for you- our loyal patrons.  

Making wood chips at Polyface

As we tend to our daily tasks, we seek to do it in a way that shows our high regard for the noble work before us. When we do a small task well, we are valuing the bigger picture that each small task is a part of.

  This mentality can be applied not only to farming but to all of the noble tasks we are called to do as humans in this world. Your role as mother or father, brother or sister, son, daughter or friend are sacred jobs that we hold. It may feel mundane as everyday jobs tend to feel. Putting a meal on the table for your family, doing the right thing when no one is watching, teaching a new student, washing the dishes, or caring for someone sick may not feel important in the moment. Hand-washing eggs and spreading fresh bedding in the barn certainly doesn’t feel revolutionary, but the important things in life ride on the back of doing these “small” tasks with faithfulness and love.

  We are changing the world when we cultivate strong and healthy relationships with those we love or when we leave the Earth better than we found it. Sometimes this change does not happen in big and public ways. Rather, making simple decisions to do the small jobs well brings about those big changes. This is how small tasks find their meaning and show their importance and sacredness. 

Feeding Hay at Polyface

  Here at Polyface, we are making this commitment to you every day: to do the small things with faithfulness and love to serve you. Our team works hard to do our job well whether that be taking on a large forestry project or packing the items that get shipped to your door. But this call does not end with us. We want you to join us. You may not have a farm or even a garden, but I know that you are in a “sacred” role of some sort wherever you are. What “small jobs” are in front of you that you can do with faithfulness today? Remember, every job is sacred.

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