I had a recent event happen that reminded me of something. It was a little thing but it revealed to me that I was suffering from a heart problem I had no idea I even had.
“From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.”
Psalms 33:13-15 NIV
My work has been crazy lately. It’s our busiest time of the year and we are more short handed than ever. We just don’t have enough people to get the job done. They’ve been saying they are hiring more help for months and we haven’t seen them yet. So I’ve been pretty much working six days a week and at least 11 hours a day with some 13 hour days too. I’m worn out like a lot of people are at work, and what it’s done is change my attitude. Our workplace has become a den of complaining and I’ve been sucked right into it. I caught myself just yesterday, as soon as I got home from work, dumping all my complaints on my poor wife.
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
Philippians 2:14-16 NIV
I was called by Jesus to be separate from the world in my attitude and lately I’ve been failing.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:15-17 NIV
“Be thankful.” That wasn’t me when it came to my job.
What really woke me up to this was one little moment at work involving one of my customers.
I was having another brutally long day delivering mail just trying my best to be done by 8 pm. My route is a nice route but one of the longer routes in our office with some of the highest mail volume. I also had an hour and a half of another route to deliver which has been the situation every day for many weeks now.
As I was delivering the mail a car pulled up along side me and stopped. I recognized the car immediately as the car of an older lady that once in awhile stops me to give me some mail because her locking mailbox has no place for her to leave outgoing mail. She’s done it many times in the past and she’s always been very nice to me and shows her appreciation by offering me a chocolate candy bar. Really good chocolate bars too. One time she gave me a chocolate bar that had a wrapper like a million dollar bill and told me that she wished it was real because she appreciated me and I thought at the time she was being very sincere. She doesn’t ever drive by me without slowing down to honk and wave either, she is a very kind person and one of my many great customers.
But this moment was different.
When she stopped me this time I wasn’t in a very good mood, I was actually really agitated. My very first thought as she got out of her car and then opened her car’s back door was…”Great, I don’t have time for this.” I was thinking she had a bunch of packages in her backseat to mail and I had lost my patience and kindness, replaced by an attitude of impatience and constant complaining. I wasn’t liking my job very much and surely wasn’t thankful for it, right before Thanksgiving no less. What great timing!
But she wasn’t reaching into the backseat for any packages to mail, she was reaching into a grocery bag for something else.
Two chocolate bars.
She came up to my truck smiling as she always does and handed me three letters, then offered me a choice between a milk chocolate bar or a dark chocolate. I chose the milk chocolate of course, because I’m not a fan of dark chocolate. The milk chocolate was also filled with caramel which is also my favorite, but I didn’t deserve it and I knew it.
How can a thought that is so selfish and self centered enter my mind about someone that has always been kind to me? Patience really is a virtue and at the time I had lost sight of that.
I don’t know about you but when I get an attitude of complaining it changes me. My wife noticed it. When I was dumping my work complaints on her, she asked me why I was letting it bother me so much? She could see it but I was blind to it.
I was reminded of these verses.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
My wife asking me that direct question and this kind customer stopping me on a very busy day reminded me of what’s really important.
But my customer giving me a chocolate bar wasn’t the end of the story.
The moment she walked up to my truck smiling, the thought of being in a hurry vanished. When she offered me the chocolate bars it was like we were old friends. Then she shared something with me.
She had recently found out she has breast cancer. Her doctor seemed to think they had caught it early and she told me she now knows a lot more about cancer than she ever did before. She told me the large majority of women who get breast cancer are the first in their families to get it. I didn’t know that cause I thought it was mostly hereditary.
As she told me all of this, her attitude never changed. She was the same happy, kind and positive person she’s always been. It was such a contrast to my attitude of complaining and bitterness.
I asked if I could do anything for her and that she was now on my prayer list, to which she said, “I really appreciate that! Please do pray for me but don’t worry about me, I’m a fighter! I’m going to beat this.”
It’s amazing how God works.
I had been trapped in an attitude of constantly complaining about work for weeks now. Wandering in my own spiritual desert complaining rather than being an example of faith and uplifting my coworkers with an attitude of thankfulness. Then here comes this dear woman who is going through something far more difficult than what I’m going through and it hasn’t changed her at all. She’s still the same person and a joy to be around. What an eye opener. I had lost my joy when it comes to my work and God was giving me some gentle reminders.
Have you ever read in the Bible about Elijah?
There’s this story where Elijah is hiding in a cave. He had just witnessed God show His power when Elijah challenged all the Baal prophets on Mt Carmel to prove who was the real God in front of all the people. But now he was running for his life from Jezebel and was worn out and tired. God spoke to him in the cave.
“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””
1 Kings 19:9-13 NIV
He lost perspective of who God is and God’s saving power. Elijah was having a pity party and my attitude at work was no different.
Why my situation reminded me of this story was because of how gentle God was.
God said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Then God reminded Elijah of His power with a mighty wind, an earthquake and a fire. Then what did God do?
“After the fire came a gentle whisper.”
Has God ever been that way with you? Gentle? Even when you didn’t deserve it?
Thanksgiving
It’s about giving thanks. Thanking God for the many blessings He’s given me. My job is one of those things. My job isn’t a glamorous job, it isn’t one that anybody really aspires to do but I make pretty good money for someone who never went to college and my benefits are good too. Plus, I’ve never worried about losing my job like so many people have. Those are all things I’m very thankful for.
But there is one thing about my job that I’m really thankful for.
Have you ever known that you were doing the exact thing you were meant to do? That God’s plan for your life included the very job you work at, as if it was meant for you to be there?
When I got hired at the Post Office way back when I was 21 years old, I was also offered another job at the same time that would have been a promising career.
I literally had two great job offers in the same week to choose from. A choice in paths.
The other offer was in an apprenticeship program with the naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. They were going to pay for my schooling and everything.
Why did I choose the Post Office?
The only reason, was because it was close to where I already lived, and I liked where I lived. I didn’t want to move an hour away for the other job even though it would have brought me closer to where I grew up and family too.
I’m sure it might have disappointed my parents who both ended up retiring from the same naval shipyard.
But I look back on my life after more than thirty years at the Post Office and I still know in my heart I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The first day I went to work I loved it. I was a fast learner with a great memory and my boss quickly learned to trust me to do any route. I had the ability to learn routes really fast and do multiple routes. I worked long hours but I liked the challenge at the time. I have a slightly perfectionist personality especially when it comes to work. I’m fast, but always accurate too, and I always treat the customer great.
I’ve made lot’s of friends over the years. Many good friends that I’ve worked with and many customers that really do spoil me.
But here is why this job was perfect for me.
I was saved by Jesus at the age of thirty-two. One of my coworkers played a part on my path to find Christ. When that happened I was on fire for Christ and I couldn’t read the Bible enough or learn fast enough. I call it my honeymoon period but it was that period where God placed people in my life to feed me His truth.
One of the most influential, was a guy named Barry, who had transferred in from California. He asked me one day if I wanted to go to breakfast on Saturdays before work and do a Bible study. It was such a blessing. He taught me a lot and we would get others to join us so it got to be something I looked forward to every weekend. He was a great mentor for me that I thank God for. He came into my life at the perfect time.
There was another reason this job was perfect for me.
I worked pretty much by myself and I could do the job in my sleep so it allowed me to listen to radio programs while I worked. I would listen to some really great Bible teachers on the radio every day. I just soaked in God’s Word and learned some great wisdom. I was able to get a great education in the Bible as I worked. What a blessing.
Some of my favorites are Allister Begg from Truth For Life and Chip Ingram from Living On The Edge. These two preachers really helped grow my heart as a new Christian. I could never thank them enough.
Then there are moments at work that God used to teach me things, to offer kindness to others, both coworkers and customers and to be a light.
I was meant to be the positive, smiling and encouraging person that God created me to be. I’ve always been the one to encourage and compliment rather than complain and create division and I needed this gentle reminder by God to examine my own heart in order to be thankful for the many blessings I’ve been given.
I’m truly thankful for my job, the people I’ve worked with in the past, work with now and all my customers. I’ve been blessed in more ways than I even remember.
Most importantly, I’m thankful for how gentle and patient God can be with me and how faithful He is to rescue me, even from myself at times.
He never let’s go of you.
Be encouraged my friends!
Blessings!
Just lovely.
This is such a great story. I am going to share it with our granddaughter who is struggling with depression, anxiety and fear. She recently admitted herself into a mental health care clinic and was just released Monday of this week. One of the things that she shared with me is that she is going to keep a Gratitude Journal to help her overcome negative thoughts. I am going to share your story with her in hopes that she finds encouragement with the everyday things in life. God bless you, sir. I feel that this timing of this article is God ordained. May you continue to be encouraged that God has you right where He wants you to be. Blessings upon blessings to you and your family!