Labors of Love are Meant to be Shared

My mom is a skilled seamstress. She has made wedding dresses from scratch and remade madrigal dresses from scraps. She’s highly skilled, and could command top dollar for her work—instead, she sews doll clothes for her grandchildren, pillows for heart surgery patients—and, in 2020, masks for anyone and everyone. “I only sew for love,” she says.

That’s her choice; she does not have to make money sewing, and she chooses to do it purely for the joy she derives from it, and for the gift she can make of it. She chooses not to deal with bridezillas or other people who might sap the joy from her work. Every stitch, every carefully crafted seam, is a stitch that strengthens the fabric of her soul.

Some people find a way to turn their labor of love into their livelihood. I’m pretty sure that my mechanic loves working on cars. When he expanded his business, he added completely unnecessary space to show off the classic cars that he rebuilds. Of course, the down side is that he has to deal with the business of repairing cars—he has to work on whatever car people bring to him, not just the classic ones; he has to deal with customers who are unpleasant or who don’t pay. But he seems able to separate the unpleasant business from the pleasure of his beautiful classic cars. You can tell, when you hear him talk about restoring a car, that he cares. And being able to care is fundamental to the health of our spirits.

The other thing that my mom’s sewing and my mechanic’s cars have in common is this: they want their work to be appreciated. The beauty of careful craftsmanship is worth putting into the world.

Last week, my writer’s group released our second anthology. I suppose I could call it our “second annual anthology,” because we seem to be gathering them up and putting them out at the rate of once a year. Part of the purpose of the anthologies is to encourage the less experienced writers in our group, by giving them a prompt (the anthology’s theme), a deadline, and a chance to see their work in print. It is a tangible expression of affection for one another and this thing we share. And like any labor of love—the endeavor for which we have sacrificed time, energy, and resources in pursuit of skilled craftsmanship—we would like to share it with you.

Life is a River is a collection of short stories, essays and poems offered from our souls to yours. It’s available in paperback from Amazon.com or as an eBook from your favorite retailer or library service. We invite you to check it out today.