The Kitchen He Couldn’t Stand

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” — Colossians 3:23 (KJV)

The monastery needed a cook, so Brother Lawrence became the cook. He did it for about fifteen years. There is one small detail in Beaufort’s notes that makes this story so honest: Lawrence did not like the kitchen. In fact, Beaufort says it was a job “to which he had naturally a great aversion.” An aversion is a strong dislike. He was not a natural chef who found his dream job. He was a man stuck doing something he found hard and unpleasant, every single day.

So what did he do? Before starting work, he would think through what needed doing and when. Then he prayed something like this:

“O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections.”

Then he got on with it, talking to God as he worked, asking for help, and offering him each task. When he finished, he looked back honestly. If it had gone well, he thanked God. If it hadn’t, he asked forgiveness, and then, without getting discouraged, he started again.

People noticed. Those who knew him said that even in “the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen” he stayed calm. “He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season.” Picture it: pots boiling over, several brothers shouting for different things at once, and one limping cook moving through it all with a quiet face. Lawrence himself said:

“In the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

That is the heart of his whole message. You don’t have to escape the noise to be with God. The time of work and the time of prayer, he said, were not different for him. He even said he felt more united to God in his ordinary work than when he left it for quiet prayer.

Think about the things in your life you have no choice about and don’t enjoy: a subject at school, chores, a part-time job, looking after a younger sibling. Lawrence would not tell you to pretend you love them. He would tell you to bring God into them. Work done with God, for God, is never wasted.

One thing to do this week: choose the one task you dislike most this week. Before you start it, pray your own short version of Lawrence’s kitchen prayer: “God, you’re here with me. Help me do this well, and take it as a gift.” Afterwards, thank God or say sorry, then move on.