Don't believe me? Then, I wish I could somehow transport you into my brain and my world for a few days. Here's the "funny" story:
A few weeks ago, during peak season at work...when all of the people that actually cared about their work were more than a little stressed...I received a two minute lecture regarding a very minor thing. It seems using the word "tote" versus "cart" was a BIG deal to this woman from another department with whom I had never until that day spoken. Later in the evening, my husband assured me that all permanent employees tend to look at the ones from the temp agency (like me) as incompetent children that need to be taught (my phraseology...not his).
Immediately upon the conclusion of said lecture, in my mind and not on my tongue (praise God for this) I thought "Well fine! See if I ever offer to take the cart the rest of the way for you again!!" And true to my promise...I haven't.
If you know God...you can see where this is going.
Well...He let me hold onto my "promise" for about two weekends and then last Sunday (the only day I work with this person), every time I saw her I heard God's Spirit say, "You need to let it go." I was too tired from working to try.
And finally yesterday, I saw her two or three times in passing and I felt that "nudge" from the Spirit saying, "I want you to ask to take her cart" and "You need to move past this petty thing." I knew I wasn't mad at her and hadn't even been offended since the day of the lecture. All of this was just my prideful way of "getting even". I'm sure she didn't even notice. I was the only one getting any satisfaction about avoiding her.
When I realized all of this and the Holy Spirit reminded me that just that morning I'd implored Him to speak so I could hear Him...then, yes...I let it go. I even thought to myself I would offer to push a cart for her next time I saw her.
So now...the thing you know about God if you've been walking with Him for awhile: He gives you a chance to practice what you've determined in your heart to do!
Not long after lunch, I was sent from my department to another one. At first, they put me in a job that was very physically demanding. I don't know why...God's care for me...the manager's worry that I was an old, out of shape lady that couldn't do it...or both...but I was moved to another location within about 20 minutes. The area manager came to me and said, "I need to move you over here because this other guy isn't doing much. Stay with _________, she'll show you what to do."
Yes....___________________ is cart vs. tote lady!
I almost literally laughed out loud!
I finished the next five hours happily doing my work...no resentment...no bitterness...worked very hard, impressed the bosses and this lady and even found her to be nice, helpful and also accepting blame for giving me wrong direction when someone else wanted to get on me for doing something incorrectly. The afternoon was physically exhausting and my feet and legs were still a little sore this morning...but I spent the afternoon with a light spirit, a spring in my step and joy in my soul because my God cared enough to have me settle my issue earlier in the day!
The funniest thing is that right here, as I've been typing this, I remembered that at one point (Ahhh! God you are SO good!) she was pushing a cart and I offered to return it for her. It didn't even occur to me until today!
Just in case you've ever wondered...I DO believe God has an amazing sense of humor! When the world likes to think of a god that's just waiting to "Zap" us when we do wrong...I'll gladly take the image of the One that's laughing at my issues and nudging me back onto His path!
Amen!
A few weeks ago, during peak season at work...when all of the people that actually cared about their work were more than a little stressed...I received a two minute lecture regarding a very minor thing. It seems using the word "tote" versus "cart" was a BIG deal to this woman from another department with whom I had never until that day spoken. Later in the evening, my husband assured me that all permanent employees tend to look at the ones from the temp agency (like me) as incompetent children that need to be taught (my phraseology...not his).
Immediately upon the conclusion of said lecture, in my mind and not on my tongue (praise God for this) I thought "Well fine! See if I ever offer to take the cart the rest of the way for you again!!" And true to my promise...I haven't.
If you know God...you can see where this is going.
Well...He let me hold onto my "promise" for about two weekends and then last Sunday (the only day I work with this person), every time I saw her I heard God's Spirit say, "You need to let it go." I was too tired from working to try.
And finally yesterday, I saw her two or three times in passing and I felt that "nudge" from the Spirit saying, "I want you to ask to take her cart" and "You need to move past this petty thing." I knew I wasn't mad at her and hadn't even been offended since the day of the lecture. All of this was just my prideful way of "getting even". I'm sure she didn't even notice. I was the only one getting any satisfaction about avoiding her.
When I realized all of this and the Holy Spirit reminded me that just that morning I'd implored Him to speak so I could hear Him...then, yes...I let it go. I even thought to myself I would offer to push a cart for her next time I saw her.
So now...the thing you know about God if you've been walking with Him for awhile: He gives you a chance to practice what you've determined in your heart to do!
Not long after lunch, I was sent from my department to another one. At first, they put me in a job that was very physically demanding. I don't know why...God's care for me...the manager's worry that I was an old, out of shape lady that couldn't do it...or both...but I was moved to another location within about 20 minutes. The area manager came to me and said, "I need to move you over here because this other guy isn't doing much. Stay with _________, she'll show you what to do."
Yes....___________________ is cart vs. tote lady!
I almost literally laughed out loud!
I finished the next five hours happily doing my work...no resentment...no bitterness...worked very hard, impressed the bosses and this lady and even found her to be nice, helpful and also accepting blame for giving me wrong direction when someone else wanted to get on me for doing something incorrectly. The afternoon was physically exhausting and my feet and legs were still a little sore this morning...but I spent the afternoon with a light spirit, a spring in my step and joy in my soul because my God cared enough to have me settle my issue earlier in the day!
The funniest thing is that right here, as I've been typing this, I remembered that at one point (Ahhh! God you are SO good!) she was pushing a cart and I offered to return it for her. It didn't even occur to me until today!
Just in case you've ever wondered...I DO believe God has an amazing sense of humor! When the world likes to think of a god that's just waiting to "Zap" us when we do wrong...I'll gladly take the image of the One that's laughing at my issues and nudging me back onto His path!
Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment