Switch board nightmare

I was visiting with my mom last night. And we were talking about some funny things that happened to us. She told how she used to be a waitress in her younger years and she could never keep the tables straight, or people's food straight. But because she was young and cute they let her get by with it. 

My experience was when I worked a temporary job at a company called Pro Clean.  They had hired me to work for a couple of months in their warehouse. I loved working there and made friends with most everyone quickly. The office staff really liked me too, and when they needed an extra body in the office to fill in, they would often call me in to help with odd jobs. 

One day, I was called in at the last minute and thrown onto the switchboard to answer the phones.  I didn't think anything of it.  I thought "no problem, I've talked on the phone all my life, how hard can it be?". Well, there was no time for anyone to train me.  It was only a 6 line system. ( really!  How hard can six lines be?). PLENTY HARD!  

When the phones started ringing, 3 and 4 lines at a time, I couldn't remember from one call to the next who I put on hold on what line!  I kept putting people to the warehouse who needed to talk to customer service, I put salesmen into the maintainance department.  I left people on hold for 10 minutes straight.  I had nightmares about it for months afterward! 

But, the worse thing that happened was, the next day the President came in and "thanked" me for leaving him on hold for fifteen minutes before transferrin g him to the wrong department.  I was mortified!  But I guess I was lucky, because they liked me and I didn't get fired.  But they never asked me to man the phones again.  

Those daunting experience may not be funny at the time, but it sure is fun to look back and laugh. I'm going to do my best not to take life so seriously, and to remember and write out the funny moments of my life.   I hope you will too.  And, they are much more fun shared with someone else!

Have a blessed day.  

Thanks SRT for the beautiful locksreen reminder.

SRT Devo. Proverbs 3:5,6  "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. "

Sometimes we just don't understand why things happen in our lives. Sometimes we don't understand why God is not answering our prayer quickly enough for us. Things are not always clear to our eyes but God's word tells us that he's got our back. Praise God! This means that I don't have to worry anymore. I can allow God to be God and I can go on living my life to the best of my ability to please God.

Dear God,

Please help me to remember this when things come up in life that I don't understand. Help me to remeber that You know the big picture and You have a plan. And to trust it, trust You, because You have my back.  

Gifts

Joyce Meyer devotional. Text: 1 Corinthians

12:11

:  

It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

I love this devotional this morning. Because Joyce is talking about how to discover and develop the gifts that God has given you. And it really has made me think about what gifts are in me.  She encourages you to focus on your strengths And really exercise the gifts that God has given you. Find something that you like to do and do it over and over again so that you become good at it.  As you become good at it your confidence begins to build. And you need that confidence, because you are going to get criticism. That is part of being an instrument of God.

I am finding that what I thought were the gifts that God would use me for in ministry, are not really what I'm using in ministry (today at least). I am a very creative and artistic person, and I always thought that God would use me in those gifts. And I'm not saying that he won't. But the gifts that are so natural to me,  like laughter, listening, encouragement, and communication,  I'm using every day to bring glory to my God. I use these gifts at work, and at play, and during my time with my sisters in Christ.  

God has gifted me with a special way of relating to people. And because of this gift I am able to make wonderful connections when networking with other people in other businesses and when sitting down with a potential client. And God has given me a heart to help people, to really give them something of value when I sit down with them. This helps them, but also it is helping me immensely with my business of Medicare supplement insurance sales.

God is so good that way.  He allows us to use the gifts within us, that bring us pleasure and peace. But he also allows us to use them to bring value to other people. And that in itself is ministry.