Happy Labor Day!

Why do we celebrate Labor Day? This was the question posed to the children's ministry at the beginning of church yesterday. One brave boy dared to answer that "Labor day allows people in the Army to take a break." He was close, and in all fairness, Memorial Day and Labor Day were a little confusing to me when I was six.

The children's minister went on to teach about the day of rest, and how God intended us to use the Sabbath as a day of rest, just as he rested on the seventh day of Creation. I try to remember that lesson, but unfortunately find myself cramming as many errands into the mix as possible on our 'day of rest'.

So, back to Labor Day. According to the all knowing Wikipedia, "The first Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882 in New York City, by the Central Labor Union of New York, the nation's first integrated major trade union. It became a federal holiday in 1894..."

Interestingly, I work in a shop that is predominately unionized. Almost half the workforce at my company are members of one of three unions to support aircraft production. Many complained that we were not working Labor Day because they would not be paid triple time to work a Federal Holiday. One employee threatened to intentionally slow production on critical parts to ensure our shop had to work the holiday. For those of us that wanted the day off (mainly salaried employees), I'm grateful we received this day to spend with family and friends, away from the work place. As you can tell from my wee rant, work has been full of challenges in recent months, and while I'm grateful to have a good job and benefits, I frequently ponder what other things I could do and contributions I could make with my time....

In summary, Happy Labor Day! May you enjoy the holiday in whatever way brings you joy!