Industry, Industrious, Industrial Strength
When you hear the word "industry" you might think "manufacturing," or enterprises that are
related like the cosmetics industry, recording industry, or film industry. You might also think of
the captains of industry, business tycoons and philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie, John D.
Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Mary Kay Ash.
We might think "ordinary people" like you and me wouldn't be in a list of such distinguished
businesspeople, at least not yet. Who among us has amassed the wealth and influence of those
magnates? And yet, I believe we can all be "captains of industry" in our own way.
I talked in last week's episode about my mother's systems and her incredible productivity and
work ethic. Today is her birthday, and if she were with us today, she would be 91 years old!
She's been gone since 2007, but her influence is still strongly felt in my family and in our
community. If I could use only a single word to describe her, I would say "Industry."
Ephesians 4:28b says, "...be industrious, earning an honest living, and then you'll have enough
to bless those in need." (The Passion Translation) The NIV says, "...work, doing something
useful with their own hands..."
Mom's industry was our home. She never finished high school, quitting before her junior year
to go to Cincinnati for work. Her parents had lost their home to a house fire and, as the eldest of
eight children, it fell to Mom to help. She loved numbers, and she said if she could have ever
gone to college, she'd have become an accountant. She managed the family finances, such that
they were, and she found creative ways to economize, often adding to the family coffers by
selling her home-grown eggs, butter, and raw milk to neighbors.
She was disciplined, practical, steady as the day is long. Each week looked much like the one
before: laundry day was Tuesday, with pinto beans for supper, a hearty stew for after church on
Sundays, and cornbread every single night because Daddy liked it with honey or molasses.
Mom did, too, savoring the crispy crust of the bread baked in a cast-iron skillet. She gardened
every single year, and her garden was always rife with produce.
I've seen her peel knotty little apples from our orchard for days until her fingers and thumb
were stained deep brown from the juice, and she'd wrap her fingers with pieces of gauze when
the Old Hickory paring knife would nick or sometimes slice more deeply into her skin, and the
faint injuries would burn as the apple juice ran over her hands. Fried apples, apple butter, apple
jelly, applesauce, sweet apple preserves, dried apples, applesauce cobbler and apple pies. A
virtual Forest Gump shrimp boat of possibilities.
When she passed, my two brothers, my sister, and I had enough green beans, applesauce,
pumpkin, peaches, and other canned and frozen foods to feed us for a decade. She believed in
the dignity of work "as unto the Lord," and she thanked Him for the bounty she harvested every
year.
She used her industriousness as a platform for her many gifts. The food she preserved so
faithfully every year was used in Hospitality. She fed our family, her extended family, families
in need in the community. At our annual "dinner on the ground"-a Memorial Day tradition in
our little country church-her chicken and dumplings, made-from-scratch apple stack cake, and
potato salad were the first samplings to disappear.
When she had an overflow of green beans in her garden, she'd ask others if they wanted to pick
them. They always said no. When they didn't pick them, she would pick them, and offer them
again. "No, thanks" she was told. Not wanting to waste them, she'd then break the beans and
pressure-can them in sealed quart mason jars.
Do you remember The Little Red Hen Golden Book? Where the little red hen found a grain of
wheat and did all the planting, tending, and harvesting and invited the duck and the goose and
the cat and the pig to help? The other animals always said no UNTIL the bread was baked and
ready to eat. "Oh, yes!" they'd say, now that the Little Red Hen had done all the work. The
same with Mom's green beans. EXCEPT, unlike the Little Red Hen, she gave away the finished
product. She knew she was being taken advantage of, but she couldn't bear to waste all that
she'd been given. Better to be generous and hospitable than to be a bad steward of her
resources. Their lack of personal responsibility and industry did not excuse her own.
Mom was often sought out for her wisdom. She was analytical but not cold; she was a great
judge of character, and her predictions of people's behavior was usually spot-on. No matter if
you were family or a close friend, if you were in the wrong, she didn't give you a by on your
actions or try to justify them in any way. If we came home with a tale of injustice-someone
who was mean to us, or we got in trouble at school-her first question was "What did YOU
do?" She taught personal responsibility first. Failure or injury began first with you; the blame
game never gained us sympathy nor excused us from our part. To this day, when I fail or miss
the mark, or when I receive criticism or rebuke, my first question is What did I do, or NOT do,
to be where I am now. Once that is honestly assessed, I can move forward with what needs to
change.
You might think her personal responsibility stance was harsh. It wasn't. She was not given to
lots of words; she never talked just to hear herself. She measured her words, weighed them, and
selected them with care. She was a truth-teller, and her soft-spoken humility enabled her words
to penetrate the hearts of all who came to her for wisdom.
She was also funny! Quick-witted and dry, her humor would sneak up on you. She'd zing you
with an insight that was wise, apt, and hilarious, all in a turn of phrase. Most people thought
Daddy was the "fun" parent because he was affable and a cut-up in public, but privately he was
generally more serious and inclined to introspection. Mom was more reserved in public, but
privately more open. People respected Daddy. They loved Mom.
She was industrial strength. Inner strength. The year I was born, Mom and Dad moved from
Cincinnati to the farm in Kentucky where I grew up (and it's still my home today!). Before
moving to Kentucky to raise their family, they both worked full-time in Cincinnati at RCA
making picture tubes for televisions (Google it if you're under 70 years old!). Every possible
weekend, they traveled on old US Highway 25-this was before Interstate 75 was even built-
driving some 160+ miles to clear nearly 60 acres of farmland, camp in primitive style on the
property, and build a house.
I asked Mom about the decision. "Wasn't it risky?" I asked her. Moving away from the city,
from good jobs, to a small farm that likely wouldn't produce enough income for a growing
family? She and Daddy knew how to garden, but farming? Dairy cattle? Tobacco? Her answer
surprised me. It was a risk, she told me, and in an unusual acknowledgement of her capabilities,
she said, "But I was betting on myself and your Dad. We could work our way through it. Where
there's a will, there's a way. With the Lord's help, I knew we would make it work."
Because Mom and Dad were masters at self-leadership, their work ethic, risk management, and
consistent activity toward their goals created the life they wanted. They wanted to raise their
family close to the land and teach us how to live simply and abundantly, walking in faith. They
wanted to leave their children better off than they were, and they accomplished those goals and
more.
Toward the end of their lives, they helped me plant a vegetable garden. I was about 38-39 years
old, still rather fit and agile after birthing three kids, and Mom (a mother of four, plus 3 she
miscarried) would have been nearly 70, and Dad, coming up on 77 years old. Their stamina was
incredible. I was easily discouraged and more than a little whiny. "This is really hard!" I would
say, and Mom-ever direct! -would retort, "Keep at it!"
She and Daddy were this whirlwind of results-producing, step-by-step, intentional activity-
pacing out the rows, planting the seeds, dropping fertilize, using the hoe to rake dirt over the
hills, chopping out weeds. Sounds like that Little Red Hen, doesn't it? And I... I was standing
still in the eye of the maelstrom, wondering if I could ever grow anything without them.
It wasn't just work ethic, although they both had it in spades. It was self-management, self-
confidence, and an unwavering faith. Industrial strength! Was Mom ever tired, or discouraged,
or worried? Of course. But she didn't allow those feelings to control her. I remember a season
when the cows were losing calves. Each loss would have a dramatic effect on the family
economy. Mom and Dad prayed, trusted God, thanked Him for their able-bodied-ness and His
provision, and buried the carcasses and moved on. They didn't have time or energy to devote to
"It's not fair!" or "Why is this happening to us?" Those self-indulgent questions would only
hinder their progress, their movement forward.
Because of their industrial strength, they left us with a legacy of faith, integrity, mental,
spiritual, and emotional fortitude, an inheritance of a debt-free family farm, additional free-and-
clear real estate, savings that covered Mom's expenses after Dad passed away, more than
enough to bury both, and a substantial financial provision for each of their four children as well.
Proverbs 31gets rolled out on Mother's Day as a tribute to the women "of noble character." It is
a Hebrew acrostic with corresponding letters of the alphabet, and the result is a kind of A is for
adorable, B is for beautiful kind of form in the original language. It's interesting to me that the
book of Proverbs begins with Wisdom as a woman. "She raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech." (chapter 1: 20) "Get
wisdom, though it cost you all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you. (chapter 4:7)
And then the last chapter of the book ends with the qualities of the virtuous woman. She is a
woman of industry who "considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a
vineyard" (verse 16). Her industriousness is her platform as she "opens her arms to the poor and
extends her hands to the needy" (verse 20). And her industrial strength is visible because she
"can laugh at the days to come" and she is "clothed with strength and dignity" (verse 25).
My mom was a woman of noble character, a captain of industry. I am so blessed to have had her
as an example of what a woman can be and do. She didn't have a ton of money, she wasn't
famous, she wasn't titled, nor educated, nor a leader of leaders in a traditional business or
enterprise. But she was wealthy in wisdom, in experience, in relationships, and influence. She
used her gifts wisely and well. I pray I am even half so wise and industrious as she.
Happy Birthday, Mom. Leave the Light on for us. We'll be along shortly!
Father,
Thank You for your tremendous gift to me of my mother. I thank You that she knows you and
taught us about You in her time on earth. Not everyone has such a Mom-and honestly, Lord, I
worry that *I* am not such a Mom, failing to have her industrial strength, her work ethic, her
humility-so I pray for Your Holy Spirit to show me ways I can be better. I want to grow in my
faith and works, and I want the gifts You've given to me to be put to good use the way Mom
used all that You gave to her from her garden to her table to her generosity and wisdom. If
anyone lacks wisdom, James wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, let them ask of God who gives
generously. Lord, I'm asking.
Say hello to Mom for me and give her a hug. Tell her I love her, would You?
I love You, too, and praise You!
In Jesus' name,
Amen
I'm working on a new on-line course called Spiritual Leverage - Taking God as Your Business
Partner without being Smarmy, hyper-religious, or superficial. I'm more and more skeptical of
social media ads that promise massive monthly incomes, little to no work, and the idea that
God's blessings will flow automatically if you just invoke His name or "manifest" His promises.
His economy is so much - pardon the pun - RICHER than that! We'll explore:
+ The Relationship that Matters + God's promises and His Kingdom + Definitions (wealth,
prosperity, success, and more) + What's Required from You + Spiritual Barriers to Your
Success + What Belief's Got to Do With It + Where Do We Go From Here
If you are interested in the course, get on the waiting list for its release later this year. That's
talkandpray.us/spiritual-leverage.
As always, the links will be in the show notes. And if you are on our podcast email list, the
Spiritual Leverage course link will be in there. Sign up to get the podcast and newsletter
delivered to your inbox at talkandpray.us/podcast.
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Thank you again, for being with me at Talk & Pray!
