The Meanings and Blessings of Family Work

Prosaic Work Connects People and Changes Hearts

Family work is prosaic work - commonplace, even tedious or dull. But these small, everyday events combine to form the character of a week, a month, a year, and eventually a lifetime. Few things in life are as small, simple, or of seemingly little value as the everyday tasks we do for family members.

From a spiritual perspective, work done with a minimum of concentration leaves our minds free to focus on one another as we labor. Unlike play, which often involves significant mental activity, sharing an everyday task can dissolve feels of hierarchy, inviting lighthearted or intimate conversation that binds us together.

Two students talked about the importance of work to them:

"Some of the best times with my dad were when I would help him do yard work... we'd have some of our best talks about life as we raked leaves or hauled wood."

"I think picking strawberries and string beans was especially productive as a family because the work was long and mundane. The quiet, almost mentally effortless work is fertile soil for conversation. I sometimes miss those days."

Family work thus reveals a profound potential to strengthen and heal relationships. Performing mundane yet essential tasks for those who cannot do so for themselves can create, in the absence of price, a precious connection between giver and receiver. As we figuratively touch each other at the simple level of everyday a need, routine acts of service begin to mend feelings and foster unity.


The daily work of feeding, clothing, and sheltering others has the power to transform us spiritually as we transform others physically.