Ants!

Written by Maureen Sim

I visited a home a few months ago and the manager said how busy the staff were. There were lots of things going on and it reminded her of a colony of ants rushing here and there never stopping — just getting on with the job! I was thinking about her comments as I was driving home.

Ants! I could write a book on ants!  They love me and follow me around wherever I go!  They have a habit of turning up wherever I live. You can’t stop ants doing their work. No matter how many times you sweep away the sand that they’ve muscled through the cracks in your driveway, you can do it again tomorrow, and the next day… and the next. Ants are vocationally fulfilled; they don’t have a care in the world. God cares for them and all they care about is doing what God made them to do. In the same way he equips us, like them, to give our all, to diligently do what he has created us to do.

Colossians 3:23–24
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Working in care is full of moving parts — people to support, homes to maintain, systems to improve, problems to solve, and often many competing priorities. Teams —and especially managers — can sometimes feel like they are carrying the unseen infrastructure that helps everything else function.

This Bible passage is a reminder that even practical tasks are spiritual acts when done in service, in integrity, and in love. Managing IT changes, projects, deadlines, staffing pressures, and new systems may feel relentless at times, but none of it is unnoticed by God. The goal is not to do everything at an unsustainable pace or to carry every burden alone. God doesn’t call us to frantic striving. He calls us to faithful stewardship: doing what is ours to do with wisdom, diligence and peace.

Sometimes when the pressure seems overwhelming, it’s worth taking a few minutes out and remembering who you are doing it for, and sharing those pressures with Him. Unity matters too. Teams under pressure can easily become fragmented, reactive, or isolated. But when people communicate well, assume goodwill, and support one another, burdens become lighter.

So, let’s remember:

1. We are not serving spreadsheets, tickets, systems, targets or deadlines first—we are serving people and ultimately serving Christ.

2. Share those times when you feel pressurised, pray and ask a colleague or friend to pray for you.

3. Wisdom includes knowing when to press ahead and when to pause and review.

Thank you God for the work that you have entrusted us to do, for the skills you have given to each of us to be able to fulfil our calling, and the way that you bring us together in teams to carry out tasks we could not accomplish by ourselves. We pray that we would be effective individually and collectively, that there would be granted unity, calm minds, wisdom in leadership, patience, compassion and grace. Amen.