‘The cows have to be milked’

“I grew up during the war years,” says Joe Schuringa. “In retrospect, from a teaching perspective, these were the best years of my life.” The war years taught Schuringa a crucial lesson that he hopes to share with other Christians across Canada: “Life goes on; the cows have to be milked.”

Johan Frederick Schuringa is a 90-year-old author, philanthropist, retired businessman, and self-titled “avid grandfather.” Born in the Netherlands before World War II, he now lives in Georgetown, Ontario. Schuringa has been in the workplace for more than seven decades, having countless career changes and working in many industries, most notably the automotive after-market. In addition to serving on the board of Youth for Christ, TeachBeyond and Ambrose University, Schuringa is the leader of the LifeWork project (lifeworkproject.org).

He is the author of two recent books – LifeWork: A Christian Guide to Going Beyond in Life & Work (2022) and Expedition to Success: Journeying with God in the Workplace (2020) – which have been used for small group studies in different churches in Ontario. These books offer practical advice on how to achieve success while remaining faithful. Core to his mission, Schuringa uses his work experience and life story to embolden Christians to find purpose in their work, cultivate relationships, achieve God-honouring goals and overcome obstacles.

Life goes on

In recent years, Schuringa has made appearances on podcasts and online interviews to share his mission and promote his work. In almost all appearances, he retells the same miraculous, life-changing story:

“It was January 1945. My father was very active in the Underground. Most nights, he slept away from home. We had some cows for milk and cheese. I had to milk those cows when my dad was not there. On this particular night, he came home and said, ‘Schuringa, you don’t have to milk the cows.’ I was delighted at the chance to sleep in.

“At five o’clock that morning, my mother shakes me and says, ‘Schuringa, Schuringa, you gotta get up. You have to milk the cows.’

I said, ‘no, no, Dad’s milking the cows.’

She said, ‘Dad was picked up by the Nazis last night.’ In those days, when somebody was ‘picked up,’ you knew you would never see them again. So, believing that my father was dead, I had to milk the cows. I am sitting there, with tears running down my face, milking the cows. It was sad, but I did it.

“The moral of the story is this: No matter what happens . . . Life. Goes. On. Today, when something bad happens, we are all upset and we need two months off from our job. I say, keep working! The cows have to be milked!” His mother’s disheartened instruction to milk the cows on that dreadful day was what Schuringa called “the best therapy ever.” For a Christian “to say, ‘the cows have to be milked’ means that life goes on with a sustaining Saviour.”

Whatever your hand finds to do

In addition to his story from the war years, Schuringa uses Scripture to help Christians find joy in the undesirable working environments we will inevitably encounter. Two verses have made a significant impact on Schuringa’s life: Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,” and Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

When re-reading these verses, Schuringa realized that Christians can receive God’s blessing even in a drudgerous workplace. Serving and honouring God can take place simply by fulfilling customer needs with kindness or working on an assembly line with diligence.

This is the Biblical foundation of Schuringa’s mission. He is very much aware that many Christians only look forward to Friday because that means work is over. Schuringa’s mission as a philanthropist is to replace “Thank God it’s Friday” with “Thank God for Monday morning.” It is as if to say, “Thank you God for giving me another opportunity to receive your blessing.”

“The source of our power is God’s will,” says Schuringa. “When we do God’s will as Christians, we receive God’s blessing. When we work with all our might, we stand out from the rest. What happens then? You get promoted! So not only are you obedient to God, it enhances your career.”

Schuringa admits that this philosophy does not solve all problems in the workplace, but, at the very least, he hopes that Christians will discover how to serve God in day-to-day tasks and ultimately find joy in the mundane and menial.

Some of Schuringa’s advice seem counterintuitive. How does accomplishing professional success lead to a God-honouring life? Schuringa suggests that if Scripture is fundamental to our work, employers and customers will see a passionate hard worker, which is beneficial for not only you as an achiever and a servant for God, but also for the business as a whole.

The power of Christ

By the grace of God, Schuringa’s story from the war years has a redemptive ending. On his way to being executed, Schuringa’s father proclaimed God’s power through prayer and God gave him the strength to loosen his bonds. He escaped the Nazi guards and lived for another 42 years. This taught Schuringa that tapping into the power of Christ allows you to do wonderful things.

Ninety years of Schuringa’s life is much more than a testimony of Christ’s power. It is proof that success, joy and blessing can be found when we discern God’s will, study his Word, and continue working not in our name, but in God’s name.

On Sunday night, as you dread going to work the next morning, Joe Schuringa wants you to remember that no matter the circumstances, the cows have to be milked and life goes on with a sustaining Saviour.