I once had a job that I dreaded because it was so boring. I prayed to be delivered from that job. I got my answer and it was not what I expected. I read in the Bible that I was to do my work like I was working for the Lord. I knew God was speaking to my heart.
It was a nice place to work and I was glad to have a job. The problem was that I felt a mental restraint. My boss had me filing what they called white stuff. It was a massive pile of papers with very little information written on them and these one liners all had to be filed. Later, they decided that it was unnecessary and threw most of it in the trash. The other employees had the job of filing the serious documents and I was able to join them after the white stuff was eradicated. They really had a bond and whenever the boss was away they would sit around and swap stories. I remember how they laughed and divulged secrets. I rarely joined them because I realized that being accepted by them was not more important than being faithful to my real boss. When our supervisor would return, the group would disperse and look fully committed to the work. I continued filing at the same pace and tried to block out the feeling of nervousness I felt by her presence. I still thought of her as a tough boss.
I was only a freshman in college when I started that job. By my sophomore year, it was apparent that I was different. My faith had grown and my innocence seemed to be preserved. My supervisor seemed to dislike my obscurities and decided to make things more awkward when she gave me lewd lingerie for my birthday. A few chuckles by my colleagues only confused the matter further. I could only conclude that my stand on sexual purity was the talk of the office.
Not much longer, she approached me like she didn’t believe I worked hard enough. I did not try to defend myself, but I honored God by choosing to show nothing but respect. She did not see that I was commitment when she was away. I made sure that I had a consistent pace whether she was around or absent. Integrity is so important and I wasn’t consistent just to make her happy but to make God happy. One morning she decided she was going to push me harder and harder. She pushed until my fingers were bleeding. She looked proud of the accomplishments, but a few days later I was fired.
At the moment she fired me, I was very upset. I was going to confront her, so I got dressed and headed out, but I stopped myself at the bottom of the steps. My original thoughts were to bust into that office and challenge them…crazy right. But I stopped myself at the bottom of the steps. I sat on the steps at my dorm and began to melt. I spoke to God saying “I did what you said and I honored you in my work. How could this happen?”
That broken state I was in only lasted a moment because at that very moment something miraculous happened. My dorm director walked up to me and said, “I need help around here, could you work for me?” I had not spoken with anyone about the conversation I just had with my supervisor. I knew it was my real boss that sent her. Immediately, I accepted her offer. God was faithful and I was glad that I trusted Him while working in a tough position. He turned things around. That new job was gift the best because it was one of the best jobs that I ever had.
Have your plans ever clashed with an employer’s? How do you work through difficult situation?
mannerzmatterz 