Thursday, October 9, 2014

...I learned to love the phrase "How may I direct your call?"


It was a Wednesday morning at the end of July. I left my job two and a half months before and was a month from the termination of paychecks. This summer morning, opportunity called me on the phone. A friend who works as a recruiter, offered me a temporary job that could turn into a full-time position. I would answer the phones, redirect email leads, file folders, and other office-related tasks.  It was an hourly position and I would need to start today. Today?!! My first response was No. I wasn't looking for a temporary solution to unemployment. I didn't have childcare for my daughter (who was still asleep upstairs), and let’s face it….it wasn't glamorous.

I took a deep breath. I prayed. I called a dear friend for wise counsel.

By lunchtime, I was in the office, being trained on proper operating procedure of a multi-line phone.

 As my mentor worked with me, she repeatedly asked if I was overwhelmed. She wanted to make sure I was catching on, and if I could manage the tasks being introduced. I wanted to laugh!! She didn't know my background. She had no clue about the daily take-take-take of my previous job; the endless demands on my time, my mind, my spirit. She was unaware of the sleepless nights studying for a certification program. She was oblivious to my juggling act of working, running a household, being a parent, going to school, being heartbroken…. No, honey…I've got this!

As she returned to her duties, a huge wave of peace came over me. I recalled my prayers during those dark times. I had asked for reprieve. I had asked for a “mindless job where I don’t have to care about anyone or anything”. My prayers had been answered. This was perfect for me, for right now. God did indeed provide! It wasn't how I’d imagined it, but it was provision.

The first few days were great! I couldn't stop smiling, I was just so GRATEFUL for being there! Making Avery file folder labels, directing phone calls, and sorting through mail had never been so exhilarating! Then, about a week into this experience, I became unsettled. As a school counselor, I was seen, I had a presence. People sought my advice, knowledge and skill. I felt important. How could THIS be important??

 “They should know I can handle more than this” became part of my thought process. “I work about an hour out of the eight hour day….literally. They should be using me to my potential. Do they really expect me to sit in this claustrophobic cubicle all day?”

 WHAT??! Good grief! As I listened to myself I became ASHAMED. How could I go from elated with relief, to ungrateful and greedy in less than a week?! Pitiful!! Let me just say, when God starts working on you….it ain’t pretty! In fact, it can be excruciatingly painful! My sinful nature was being exposed and it was UGLY! But I knew I had to take a hard look at it.

As I pondered my flawed soul, I realized that these should’s and ought to’s were not foreign to me. Somehow, they always emerge, causing turmoil. I realized I had allowed them to morph my previous dream job into a nightmare. Somewhere along the way I had become PRIDEFUL, ARROGANT, and SMUG.  I suddenly saw that perhaps it wasn't the job, the students, the supervisors, the workload…maybe it was ME!! (Granted….parts of the job were completely unrealistic, but this is my redemption story, not a complain-about-the-nature-of-my-old-job story)

I was embarrassed. I had to repent and ask forgiveness. I had to work on my heart…and fast! I said so many Thank You’s and Forgive Me’s! I had to ask about God’s will and not focus on my emotions:

Answering the phone is important because______________________.

I can be influential at this job by _________________________________.

I can serve a purpose at this job by _______________________________.

Is there a person or situation in this office that needs God’s grace and affection?

In this temporary situation, how can I use my time wisely, effectively, and for the benefit of others?

How can this faceless, small, quiet job be used to glorify God?

Quickly, everything changed. Gratefulness returned. Joy resumed. God’s truth and love were louder and more prevalent than any haphazard, negative, sinful thought.

It’s been almost three months since that Wednesday morning phone call. I wake up every day glad to sit in the cubicle all day, happy to be the first impression to customers, joyful to love on my co-workers. I am able to be still in this period of time, grateful for this time of calm healing, and know that God has shaped my heart and will always, always, always provide.

I discovered I don’t have to be “big” or “loud” or in the spotlight to have a purpose. I could spread light to one person at a time. I can show grace to one caller at a time. I can model dignity in these “small” circumstances, because it’s not about the circumstance, or the size of the stage, or my realm of influence. It’s about learning to…

*Look for His grace in unexpected ways.

*Have purpose and shared God’s love in small, subtle ways.


*Be the hands and feet of God anywhere, anytime, in any way…..If I’ll let Him. 

Thanks for walking with me, 
Debi


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

...I reluctantly obeyed

I have a plan for the flow of this blog. There are specific items I want to share with you, and a very special order in which they must be shared. I have epiphanies, a few revelations, several "how have I not figured this out yet!?" moments, all in outline form, carefully written on my bathroom mirror using super cool window markers. It's impressive.

But.....

Today, the script is irrelevant. Since the very SECOND I posted this blog, things have gotten crazy. Crazy good. Crazy God is so good, crazy. I've known He's been at work all along, but my goodness is He working overtime and in tangible ways. Let's do this in chronological order, shall we?

  • Posted blog
  • Received wonderfully warm feedback from people, near and far
  • Received a few job leads, two of which lead to interviews
  • Had quick sit down chat with Job A
  • Got call back for Job A, second interview and a job offer!!! Elation. Joy. Relief. Time to pray.....
  • Had an interview for Job B....no offer
  • Created pros/cons list of Job A versus WAITING. I prayed and LISTENED. The message I heard was NO. Don't take this job. Don't force it.

The internal dialogue went a little like this: How in the world can you afford to turn down a job?! Take it. Do whatever you have to do to take care of you and the kiddo. It's not perfect and there's that little piece of you that is uneasy. That's just fear. You can do anything you set your mind to doing. Wait a minute. You do that all the time and chaos, stress, regret tend to follow. You choose something that is "close to right" and decide to tough out the rest. Do it differently. You said you wanted to do life His way. Do it. Listen and OBEY.

As I listened....I clearly heard Him say "I've got this. You are going to be just fine. Relax. Let me take care of this."

I turned it down.

I cannot describe how difficult that was to do. I cannot describe how relieved I was, either. I cried like a baby. A scared, relieved, trusting cry. Ok, God...I don't like it, but I'll do it. Much like a child,  I submitted  because my "daddy" said I must.

  • Two hours after declining the job, I opened the mail to find an unexpected escrow refund check. ($$$)
  • I cried again. Thank you, Jesus. 
  • Two hours after I went to the bank (You know I drove straight there!!) Job B called to offer a position. 
  • Pray. Pros/Cons. Listen. Obey. 
  • I declined Job B. 
It was easier to do the second time around. I'd had practice with Job A and was riding high on this new assurance that Yes, He would absolutely provide for me. It's so much easier to be BOLD when you hold that truth in your heart.
  • Temp boss asks if I can stay on an extra 3 weeks. Thanks again, Jesus. You said you had this taken care of, and you sure do! (I haven't told you that I'm at a little temp job right now. Fraction of my previous pay, no insurance)

Have any of my titles or circumstances changed? No. I'm still sitting in the 40-single-unemployed spot. (well, underemployed, which believe me, feels the same)

What has changed is my faith. My trust in Him to do what He says He will do. He did not provide in the way I thought He would. I thought a job would be the answer. He is not working on my time frame. I've moved my "have a job by now" deadline several times. This temp job has been extended three times....

 He is beyond a shadow of a doubt my security and provider.

Before all this took place, I would say those words. I believed them in my head. Very rarely did I act on them. Very rarely did I "walk the walk". I chose to obey this time and I feel stronger, calmer, more confident. Where's the chaos? Where's the stress? It's gone, along with me doing things my way. How?

FAITH built from obedience.

Thanks for walking with me, (after these last two weeks, let's walk slowly. I'm tired!)
Debi

**PS Remind of this next time I think I'm super smart and know what to do.

**PS again: With all this "doing it God's way" and everyone offering support and job leads...I find it curious no one has attempted to set me up on ONE date. Not one. I guess you all know that a mere mortal man couldn't come close to "fixing" all of this. You guys are smart. I was kinda sorta hoping a sugar daddy would come and kill two birds with one stone, if you know what I mean (I joke, I kid.....)



Monday, September 8, 2014

....I decided to go public


Why in the world would I want to tell my story all over the internet? Especially when, at this point in the journey, it's mostly hurt, disappointment, and regret?

It could be misconstrued that I'm looking for pity. (OK maybe a little. C'mon we can acknowledge I'm in a pickle and a little sympathy never hurt, right?)

Or encouragement. (I'm happy to report that I have received no hate mail....yet. I have been showered with optimism and love and I savor every bit!)

While I might get a little dose of those me-centered benefits, that's not the reason. Telling a story, sharing a message, proclaiming something larger than myself has been a whisper in my heart for several years. I've known there is a message I'm supposed to relay. Something that must be shouted from the roof tops. Seriously...It's like I need to YELL the message, but nothing comes out. I don't have the words.  I don't remember exactly when or how it started. There was no neon sign, nor burning bush. No person telling me I should do it, nor revelation-filled dream. Simply this desire, an urge, a warm feeling that when I meditate upon it, grows and swells until I have emotion-filled tears. Not happy. Not sad. Just emotion.

So if this has been brewing for years, why now? I guess I'm getting tired of being scared. I'm tired of fearing failure.I'm tired of hearing me "yeah but" myself with all the reasons I "can't".

But mostly, I'm tired of ignoring God.

All my "can'ts" and "won'ts" and fears and rationalizations have not extinguished the fire. It comes back. every. time. I've distracted it with my job as a counselor. I've diverted it with going back to school. I've hushed it with busyness, relationships, and even laziness. Yet it remains.

That's the Holy Spirit. That's not my desire. It's God's. And it's taken me years to acknowledge Him.

Now, it's time to obey.

About this time last year, I prayed intentionally and passionately for God's direction. I knew I wasn't in the right "forever" job. I knew there was something "next" for me but couldn't formulate a plan. I told Him I wanted to do His will. I asked Him to rid me of myself. I wanted Him to guide me, use me, take me where He knows is best.

Then came the break-up. Then came chaos at work. That's NOT what I had in mind!! Ugh....

If there's some big message I'm supposed to be shouting, it makes sense that it should be THIS story. This redemption story. As it unfolds.

There are times, I am EXCITED to see what He's got in store! Can you believe that?! There's peace, joy, and anticipation! Don't get me wrong. I cry hard, sorrowful cries that I won't lose my house, or be an embarrassment to my child. It's a balancing act between my fear-addiction and my faith-dedication. There's a battle raging, let me tell you! A battle that is the conflict of this story.

I tell this story for the whole-wide world because it isn't my story, it's His. My story is ugly and not worth reading. His story is gracious, and  lovely, and wonderful.

 And I want to share it with you.

Thanks for walking with me,
Debi

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Step One...

Hello blogging world! My name is Debi. If you only knew me by my current titles, you might call me a failure. A disappointment. Someone to be pitied. At least that's what I've believed about myself, so I assume you might, too.

At this specific moment in time, I have the following titles:

*FORTY
That's 40 years old. To some people that's not a big deal, but in combination with title #2....well, you'll see.

*SINGLE
Yep. 40 and single. Never saw this one coming when I was planning my wedding. Or when I was going through the divorce. I thought...I'm 34. I'm smart and funny and cute. I'm a catch. It won't be too hard to find someone. How stupid was that?! 6 years, two relationships, and no hubby later....We'll talk more about this in days to come.

*UNEMPLOYED
It's an exceptionally long, ugly story. I'll share that with you one day, too. By itself, being unemployed isn't necessarily a horrible thing. It doesn't make first date chitchat too comfortable, though! And couple it with this next thing....

*MOM
I LOVE this title!!! Unemployed single-mom....I do not love.

If these new title had come along over a long period of time, maybe I would have had time to accept them. I could have adjusted. I could have grieved, regrouped, and sailed on to the next life event. We all do that. However 40, single-again, and unemployed happened within 9 months of each other.

I'm not saying this is the worst personal story you've ever heard, it's just my story. And for me, right now, it sucks. I've thrown my pity parties. I've invited others to join me. I've cried big ugly, snot bubble, drooling cries. I've been depressed. Depressed like on those tv commercials with that looming-gray-cloud-that-won't-go-away, Depressed. I am not content in my circumstances (sorry, God) Maybe you or someone you know can relate and we can take this journey together. I have NO intention to continue to let these circumstances, these titles, suck the life out of me. Because I have other titles. Titles that I too often forget:

*BELOVED
*ADOPTED
*PRECIOUS
*BEAUTIFUL
*HEIR
*REDEEMED

The titles are based on unwavering truth.  The others are based on ever-changing circumstances.

So begins our journey together. One in which "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness" prevail. (Galations 5:22) We'll talk about day-to-day stuff, like friendships, parenting, dating, my many thought-provoking revelations I have about random happenings. It'll be good. Good and fruitful.

Thanks for walking with me,
Debi