“Each night for 24 years, she would diligently clean the White House. When she came to the president's chair, she would pause, cleaning materials in hand, and say a quick prayer.” So reads the lead in yesterday’s Washington Post.Emma Gray passed away last week and newspapers are extolling her simple, faithful service that was rooted in her faith.
And what a faith it was. Who knows how she influenced the world with her simple duty of cleaning the Presidents office.
She would pray for “blessings, wisdom and safety for each of the six presidents she served.”
She took great pride in her work. She started in the Government Accountability Office but was eventually transferred to the White House in 1955 because of her impeccable work habits. She worked there until her retirement in 1979.
Her daughter said, “It wasn't just her work, it was her character. She was a lady, a Christian lady."
She left behind 35 grandchildren; and 61 great-grandchildren.
She also left a legacy of prayer and duty. Her work could never be called drudgery. She wasn’t there just to straighten the desk and vacuum under the chairs and polish the woodwork and collect her check and wait for the weekend.
Emma Gray found meaning and purpose in her work – a High Calling. The world is probably a different place, because of the faithfulness of a cleaning lady.
Mrs. Gray might have cleaned up after the President, but she worked for God.
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all as unto the Lord.” Col 3.23
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This story well exlemplifies the testimony of Christian service, and the words of Martin Luther King Jr.:
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.' "
And in the words of Paul:
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV)
Excellent post -- a reminder that a High Calling by God's standards is not always synonymous with a high calling by the world's. ... And being a cleaning lady can be a High Calling even if it's in "lesser" places. I ought to remember that when I'm folding clothes today.
Work is about helping people. It is not about money, or fringe benefits, or status. We should all be working together to improve the lives of those less fortunate. We don't need the Bible to tell us this. We already know.
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