We are grateful for publishers, printers, bookkeepers, sales reps and marketers, truck drivers who transport the cartons of books, the critics and reviewers and those who tweet and blog, those who tell others about good books they love. Writers and readers and the booksellers that bring them together, yes, but there are so many more who are involved. Thank you for caring about our work and for being a part of our story here. While we don’t do this bookstore ministry for the acclaim, we are grateful for and to those customers and fans that notice.

Their work is worth much more than they are paid. I know some of you are too, knowing that their love for books, people, and God’s Kingdom conspires to serve you well. “Sales associate” sounds so antiseptic but I’m allergic to trendy monikers like “dream weaver.” Whatever we call the multi-tasking team here that keeps this ship afloat – Kimberlee, Amy, Patti, Robin, and Diana, the mail-out queen that wraps your packages so carefully – Beth and I are grateful beyond words. We are looking to hire a new staff member here and find it hard to even know what to call the opening. Some people romanticize bookstore work, but our staff could quickly tell you about the difficulties here day by day. And those of us whose wages are on the lower end can’t afford to decline any overtime we might be offered. Restaurant workers, preachers, many health care providers, law enforcement personnel, those who work in the media, and those in retail may have to work extra hours this weekend to commemorate the significance of their labor.

As we are heading into the Labor Day weekend, some of us will have some time off.

Just Think by Nancy J. Nordenson