During the first 90 days at a plumbing company as operations manager, I had discovered the condition of the place God put me in to use my talents, character, and deepen my faith in Him. I also discovered his plan to strengthen my weaknesses. Since day one the level of stress went from zero to 12 and my neck is constantly tense with pain and my eye twitches at the sloppy disorganized work environment, I was in. The concept of saving, budgeting, paying on time, looking out for the interest of others was foreign to the owners of the company.
I was hired to help organize the accounting and HR departments and establish procedures, which I managed to start, but I felt overwhelmed and discouraged at the magnitude of challenges. I found myself practicing the spiritual fruit of self-control of my temper, reactions, and delivery of words in stressful situations, yet this young owner (who is about 15 years younger than me) is teaching me how to communicate with finesse. In my first one-on-one meeting I kind of barfed my fears and anxieties while he was cool, calm, and excited. That was very impressive, and I noticed my will to learn from him. (Honestly, that was shocking because normally my pride would take over.)
In my personal life, I strive with God’s help to keep my word and promises to pay off my debits. To maintain my finances in order by not taking on unnecessary debt or risks. However, in this new job I’ve been united with a young entrepreneur who compliments my weakness in this area because I’ve always had dreams, but never the courage to take financial risks – AKA a fixed mindset. On the other hand, I’ve observed he has a growth, positive, entrepreneurial mindset that is very uncomfortable to me, but deep down I know with certainty God has united us to complement each other. (Even if it was for a brief period).
I had arrived at this company in a critical financial crisis stage. They can barely make their weekly payroll, pay operating expenses, and are tapping into their daily floating cash, relying on loans and credit – some maxed out. After doing my morning bookkeeping, I stare at the screen with that painful tension squeezing the back of my neck. On top of that, numerous emails, texts, chats, and people visiting my desk asking for $ confront me. All I can think of is, “HOW IN THE BLEEP DO I MANAGE THIS”? Some of the vendors threaten to close their accounts for non-payment and the threat of not being able to operate was pounding in my mind. This happened on a Tuesday and Wednesday.
One morning on my way to work, I was listening to DON’T GIVE UP IN HARD TIMES – A Video by Myles Munroe. He explained that there was a study made of butterflies in their cocoon stage. One was provided the assistance of human help during its struggle, while the other was left alone to struggle naturally until it shed completely. The one with help emerged swollen and unable to fly, while the other who did struggle naturally thrived.
By Friday, the owner was able to secure a substantial loan (over $100k) to take care of the immediate crisis situations that left me dumb-founded. (HOW THE BLEEP DID HE MANAGE THIS?) played in my head. Moreover, he spent Thursday night cooking a banquet lunch for the whole staff himself for the following day! As we all sat and ate together, I realized this process of struggle is necessary to thrive in this world (like the caterpillar). God’s love never fails and never gives up and will never run out on me!