Doing God’s work through dairy

The days are long. The jobs are dirty. Just ask Mike Rowe.

No matter what side of the dairy business you are on, you know this to be true, because many of us with cushy desk jobs today once paid our dues milking cows in tie stall barns and stacking hay bales under a tin roof in August.

Dairying isn’t a path chosen for its comfort or convenience. It’s something much bigger that pushes us, whether we are caring for calves or balancing a ration: A sense of purpose.

And I was reminded of this while chatting with Tom Wall on Episode #2 of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast.

“Here we are in the dairy industry, doing God’s work in little ways,” Tom said, “but it makes a big ripple effect and impact across the people we are serving.” 

So what does it mean to do God’s work? 

In my eyes, it looks like this: Showing up to serve by sharing our gifts, generously and unapologetically, not for our own personal gain, but for the good of others. 

For Tom, it’s giving his best and being “all in” every single day. It may be helping that one dairy manager show his or her employees that they care. The ripple effect isn’t just a higher performing team … the true impact is the shift in how those team members see themselves and the work that they do each day.

It’s a change in the atmosphere and energy that sticks with a person when they clock out for the day and walk through the door at home. That’s where the ripples continue. 

Whichever side of dairy you are on – from managing the business to milking in the parlor – take a moment to think about the incredible opportunity you’ve been given to create ripples by sharing your own unique gifts. The dairy community just happens to be the platform from which we all get to serve.

It’s not always glamorous. Sometimes, it’s downright dirty and exhausting. 

But as a faded old sticky note on my computer monitor reminds me, being obedient to the call of doing God’s work is worth it: 

“And let us now grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” – Galatians 6:9