No Small Task - Yvonne Lehman

“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” Luke 16:20

In the 1980’s, Inspirational Romances were really going strong and I was writing for two companies, Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, so I quit my job. At the time, I had two mainstream and several romances published—on my way to fame and fortune.

Well…not exactly.

Suddenly, the financial rug was pulled from under me. The market was flooded with romances. The books were being criticized, and both companies ceased to publish them.

There I was, with a husband, four children, and bills that were accustomed to being paid with two incomes. With only one income, we coasted into poverty as I tried to be published in other genres unsuccessfully.

The survival instinct is strong and we’d become accustomed to eating, so I had to pray…and find a job. I found a job as a desk clerk at a conference center—making $3.20 an hour.

Other desk clerks were high school students working during the summer or weekends. Others lacked education or skills for better jobs. This was beneath my skills and certainly not a job to further my career as a writer.

I was out of place. I was supposed to be doing something creative, wasn’t I? In my spare time I began color coding the different conferences, planning ahead for check-in to make things easier. I began talking to guests, listening to interesting stories. Then on payday, I thanked God I could buy groceries.

A Bible verse popped into my head. Be thankful in all things. Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not be ashamed. I became ashamed…of me. My self-righteous, egotistical attitude had brought me hard to my knees. Repentance and God got me a 20-cent raise.

When the Inn had small conferences, I’d have free time after guests checked in. I asked if I could write in my spare time and the answer was yes, as long as I did my work. I began to write and started taking one course at a time at the university.

I began to love that job, the beautiful inn, the people I worked with. For the next few years I helped support my family, wrote a couple books, and earned my Master’s Degree in English Literature. I taught a class, one night a week for a local college, and they paid me $40 an hour—as much as I made working an entire week as desk clerk.

I learned contentment in my situation, to be a servant of God, and look for the great things He would do. I’m blessed when my attitude is right and the work is good. Regardless of how menial the task. There is no small job, when it’s done for the Lord. Do it with a joyful and grateful heart and he’ll bless you.



Yvonne Lehman lives in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina where she and her husband raised four children, now grown
She is an award-winning, best-selling author of 40 novels and director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. In each of her novels, Yvonne tries to present one significant ingredient—hope. She has a southern upbringing and many of her novel settings are in the mountains where she's lived for the past 25 years. Many of her novels reflect her unique sense of humor.



Publisher: Barbour Books
ISBN-10: 1602604894
ISBN-13: 978-1602604896