Sometimes people do not think that their work is very important or significant. They go through each day believing that what they do is of little value or importance. They need to see the larger picture and how their job fits into the bigger picture. They need to discover, as Martin Luther said, the ministry of vocation.

During World War II, Winston Churchill as Prime Minister was traveling around his country. He was trying to motivate and inspire his fellow citizens. He was willing to go almost anywhere to encourage people in the war effort. He would, of course, always visit the troops. But he also visited those who worked on the farms and in the factories. He knew that the odds against them were great and that he must continue to help keep the morale high.

There was one group he had not yet seen. It was the coal miners. Someone asked him if he would be willing to see these men, who spend most of their time below the ground in such dangerous conditions. One man told Churchill that the miners did not feel that they were doing very much in the effort against the Nazis. He said that no one ever gave them any credit for the work that they did. Would he visit them, he asked. The Prime Minister told the man that he would be pleased to visit these men.

When Churchill visited the coal miners they were absolutely amazed that he was there. They could not believe that he would come to see them. All they could do was to stare with their dirty faces at the man who would lead Britain to victory. His words will never be forgotten by those who heard him on that day. "We will be victorious!" he said. "We will preserve our freedom. And years from now when our freedom is secure and peace reigns, your children and your children's children will come and they will say to you, 'What did you do to win our freedom in that great war?' And one will say, 'I marched with the Eighth Army!' Someone else will proudly say, 'I manned a submarine.' And another will say, 'I guided the ships that moved the troops and the supplies.' And still another will say, 'I doctored the wounds!' " The men sat with rapt attention wondering what he might say about them. "They will come to you," he shouted, "and you will say with equal right and equal pride, 'I cut the coal! I cut the coal that fueled the ships that moved the supplies! That's what I did. I cut the coal!'

Adapted from Robert Schuller, Be an Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell), p. 89.