Something happened recently that renewed my faith in just
how closely God is concerned with the little details of my life.
About a week and a half ago I received a rather unexpected
job offer. I mean, it was totally off my radar. You see, months ago, I had
given a friend of mine my resume. She is one of the higher ups in a brand new
Memory Care Center being built, and while it wasn’t complete yet, she offered
to pass along my resume for a receptionist position once they reached the
hiring stage. Of course, as the months went by, I totally forgot about it.
Until an email popped up without warning and asked if I
would be interested in a receptionist position.
It’s a good job. Full time, with benefits, including paid
vacations, everything that I want in a job. I’d be a fool to pass it up, right?
Let me just say, I was excited, I thought “How cool that God blessed me with
this opportunity without me even trying!” So I went to the interview, met the
people I’d be working with, was told that I would be an integral part of the
team. It was great! Until they told me the hours I would be working…Friday,
Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
It’s those little details that trip us up, right?
I asked them if they would be flexible with the hours so
that I could attend church. They said no, the hours are set. So Bryan and I
discussed it, and we decided that I could use my lunch hour to attend church.
Not the best compromise, but workable, after all I would only be missing the beginning
and the end of service. No big deal, right? So I accepted the position and was
scheduled to begin training this week, starting full time on the 18th.
Let’s get real for a moment. This decision was a difficult
one for me. I’d have to say in the 30 years of my salvation I have never taken
a job that so directly conflicted with church attendance. And while it may not
seem like a big deal to a lot of people, to me, it is. Since I first received
Jesus as my Savior church has always been a fixture in my life. I made a
decision early on that I wanted to be faithful, and unless I was dying I was
going to church, no matter what.
So I made this decision…but as the days passed I began to question
it. But we had already rearranged our life, bought a second vehicle, just to
accommodate it. I passed my qualms off as ‘new job jitters’ and resolved to
push the worry from my mind.
We went to church Saturday night, and the sermon was all
about making great decisions. God began to nudge me about the job. Something
the pastor said stuck with me…he said that sometimes we make decisions without
thinking about the long term effects, the consequences. Sometimes we decide to
do something because it looks good, or is based on our feelings, or it looks
harmless at first. Just because something looks good, doesn’t necessarily mean
it is good in the long run.
I gotta be honest here. When I made the decision to accept
the job I never once prayed over it, I never once thought about what this would
mean for us, for me, a year from now. I assumed this opportunity was a
blessing, but God used this sermon to show me that the little decision of ‘squeezing’
my church attendance into my lunch hour will have far-reaching consequences
that I’d rather not think about.
I don’t want to lose
that connection with God.
So on the way home Bryan asked me, “Is there something you
want to tell me?” I brushed him off and
said no. How could I tell him that I didn’t want to take the job because I
would be missing church, especially since we just spent part of our savings to
buy a second vehicle???
But he persisted and asked again. I started to say no, but
then it spilled out. And you know what he said?
He said that God had spoken to him clearly during
service. God told him that I didn’t want to take the job because I’d be
missing church and I was afraid to tell him. God told him to ask me
that question. He also told me not to
worry, that the job doesn’t matter, that buying the second vehicle doesn’t
matter, what matters is me being able to attend church.
My husband said he has never had God speak so clearly to
him, and he felt compelled to ask me that question. We are both in awe of God’s timing, and the
fact that God is so intimately concerned with the decisions we make. God used a
church service to speak into my life at a time when I needed clarity and
direction.
Just think, if I had been working, I would’ve missed it.
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