If you don’t go to church, you might not connect with this one as strongly. But for my fellow church goers, tell me if you can relate. You’re sitting in church, maybe sipping your coffee, listening to the message. It’s a great day, everything is going well and then the main premise of the message is told and it’s like the pastor is speaking directly to you. No one else in the room exists. You just know this is a message, a lesson, for you and it’s not one that you want to learn just yet because of one reason or another. Can anyone relate? Well, that happened yesterday and I have to learn the hard lesson.
What is the Hard Lesson
Some of you are probably wondering what the service was about. Well, let me not leave you in suspense for too long. It was on the scripture where Paul is speaking to bond servants. It’s in Colossians. The Scripture is Colossians 3:22 which says, “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” Oh boy. I knew this was going to be a message that would smack me in the face and sure enough, it did. Why? Because I always complain about my job.
Sharing Frustrations
Now, to explain a little bit about how this year has gone with me at work. It’s been a rollercoaster and honestly I want off. I’ve told my boss that if I could go back in time, I would tell myself not to be an assistant manager. It’s stressful, and the weight is really heavy somedays. And balancing between keeping the employees happy so they stay, and keeping the owners and fellow management team happy….let’s just say it sucks. It’s not a thin rope, it’s two ropes that are far away and I’m balancing while doing the splits. Some days I just want to sit in a corner and cry because it feels like nothing I do is good enough.
The Hard Lesson – Finding Gratitude
Last night I had to work a night shift because our night shift employee was ill and no one else was able to come in. I was really grumpy about this, and extremely frustrated because I felt like I was the only one who ever stepped up. Well, I was about to be hit with the hard lesson. While working, I was praying and, if I’m being honest, whining to God about how much everything sucked, how I hated my job, and I wanted out. He let me for a while and then he called me out. He pointed out why others were unable to help out with the night shift and that I was being childish. Basically, I had to stop whining. And then he told me to start listing off things I was thankful for, and it had to be real gratitude. No just saying thank you for things I wasn’t thankful for. If I’m being honest, it took a while for me to figure that out.
Focusing on the good
Well, I’m glad that he had me do that. Because after I got the first gratitude out, I was able to think of other things that I was truly grateful for. And I as listed these things, my mood changed. I felt lighter, and a lot more peace. In fact, I noticed that I was smiling a bit while working. So, I highly recommend that when things feel completely overwhelming and you’re just done and feeling like everything sucks – practice gratitude. As you take your eyes off the things that absolutely suck and focus on the good, it really does change your mind. It doesn’t matter if it takes a while; search for the good, the gratitude.
The Hard Lesson – Next Step
Okay, onto the next part. Do everything as if working for the Lord. This is a good reminder. Sometimes even the best bosses can get on our last nerve. When that happens we need to remember that we don’t work for them. We work for God and our boss is the supervisor he has placed over us. Sometimes they are great, and sometimes they’re not. But God is good and as our boss, he is fair and just. We just need to get out of our heads. And, with that in mind, after I was done gratitude he asked me a question that I was not ready for. Where do I want to grow at work? Now, you’re probably wondering what the big deal is. Well, ever heard the saying be careful what you pray for? If you ask God to grow you in, patience, for example – he will give you situations where you need to practice patience. I can see my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ nodding in agreement here.
Where do i want to grow at work
After trying to tell him I didn’t want to grow at work anymore, and God not accepting that answer, I really had to think. What did I want to grow in? After some thinking I knew the answer. I want to grow as a manager. There are plenty of days where I feel inadequate to be a manager. It’s like I’m guessing where to step and hope I don’t trip and fall on my face. Now, I know I can’t afford to go to school for hotel management. But there are other ways to grow. Some of these ways I know, and other ways I will need to research. But, as I do that I asked God to help by making it busier. There are some things that are out of my control and I can’t learn if things don’t get busier.
The Hard Lesson – No More Complaining
This is a lot easier to say than to execute. It’s so easy for us to complain, especially if things are not going our way. But I was struck today by just how much I complain, especially to my colleagues. And that’s not fair to them because now I’m dragging them down with me. In fact, I actually apologized to someone today because as soon as they arrived I started to complain. That’s no way to greet someone first thing in the morning. And I could almost feel God nudging me saying I needed to apologize. So, I did. And my coworker said I was forgiven. They understood and I am very grateful for them. I’m not sure exactly what the plan is to bit by bit remove complaining from my daily life, but I do know that I want to stop.
Obeying When It’s Scary
Well, here we are, entering the end of today’s blog. Has any of this resonated with you? Did anything I say nudge you and you’re trying to pretend that it didn’t? Believe me, I understand. But sitting in the negativity will not help us get out of it or make things better. In fact, it can be hard to see the good things. “Yeah, yesterday was a great day and I was so happy, but today is going to suck.” See how bad that way of thinking is? You’re already setting yourself up to have a bad day. What if we started each day with, “Today is going to be a great day.” Now, I’m not saying that now everyday will be a great day. But if we go into each day with a more positive mindset, how much would that change our life? How much would it change the lives of the people around us? What’s the harm in trying it? Anything can happen if we try.
