'He will stay and do his work faithfully...'

     "'When will he come home, Marmee?" asked Beth, with a little quiver in her voice.
      'Not for many months, dear, unless he is sick.  He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared. Now come and hear the letter.'"
                         - Marmee, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

I recently reread Little Women by Lousia May Alcott. Every time I read it I fall more in love with Louisa's writing and the story she wove with four little women growing up during the Civil War era, and of course their loving guide, their Marmee. After finishing the book this time around I thought of doing a series on the blog with thoughts from the book.  There could probably be quotes from every page as far as I'm concerned, but I have chose several favorites that I wanted to reflect on further and share with others. So this is the first of the series, hopefully with several more to come.
In the opening of the book, Marmee comes home with a letter from Mr. March. He is camped with the army (though the exact location is not given) and is writing home to his girls. The girls gather around their mother to hear their father's words, however before Marmee begins, Beth asks the question, "When will he come home?"  I love Marmee's response, "He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared." There are two pieces of this quote that I find particularly valuable. First, Marmee's confidence in her husband that he will stay until his work is complete, that he will not leave and come home to comfort until he knows his part is finished. The second is that Marmee asserts their duty to allow their father to finish his work without selfishly asking his return before his work is complete.  When I was thinking about Marmee's response I began to think about my 'work' and if I do it faithfully. Obviously, there are many definitions of work: my career, being a wife, walking with the Lord, being a friend, a sister, a daughter, and of course those pesky chores; but what work am I to complete faithfully? How do I know when my work is complete? For me, my 'work' is my life, it is all encompassing, it is all the pieces of my life and how they fit together. The Lord put us on this Earth to work, Genesis 2:15, "The LORD God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it," further, the Lord tell us to work as if for Him at all times, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man," Colossians 3:23. So if my 'work' is my life and I must do it faithfully, then I believe that I need to live my life out for the Lord at all times. I don't always know what this looks like, nor do I know how to actually achieve it, but I know that this is how I am supposed to live my life, completing my work faithfully. The word, 'complete' throws another curve ball. Clearly nothing is complete until it is finished, and since living my life is finished until I die, I know that my work will not be completed until the good Lord calls me home. This thought can be overwhelming for me, I feel like I can't possibly be faithful for the rest of my life. Thankfully, the Lord is graceful and will grant me mercy for the many times I have not been faithful and the many more times I will not be faithful. So while Mr. March's 'work' was battling in the Civil War to save the Republic, and his duty was to serve his country faithfully, my 'work' is my life and I will be working faithfully for as long as I am here.
The second piece of the quote shows Marmee's love, devotion, selflessness, and courage. She tells her girls, "...we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared." I think about this with my own selfishness and how I want people to stay near me, how I want to live near loved ones, how I want every one's life to work out so that we can be together and so that I can worry as little as possible about those I love.  But the Lord doesn't tell us that our lives will be easy or that we will always get to be near to those we love.  I think it can be very easy to ask people to leave their work and ask them to come home to safety and comfort instead of carrying out their task as the Lord has commanded. I am thankful that the furthest I've had to move from my family is four hours, but it may not always be that easy. Who knows what God has in store for B and I. I hope that I have the courage to move forward when the Lord calls, and I hope that I have the courage to trust in the Lord when others that I love get called to far away places. I hope that instead of asking them to stay near me for my own selfish reasons, I have the courage to let them go and trust that the Lord will provide for them.
Marmee, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy stayed home and waited for their father faithfully until he return after being wounded while fighting. They moved forward with their lives and worked hard on their character while waiting for their father's return.  So, I will work faithfully until my Father calls me home, or Christ's return and I will trust in the Lord when he calls other's to their duty.
These are my first reflections on the book, more to come at a later date. Nothing really new to report from A2 right now, but football season is under way and it will be interesting to be in enemy territory for the fall...perhaps some stories will be coming about life in wolverine territory in the next few weeks.
But, that's all for now.  Cheers loved ones!