In honour of the upcoming weekend I would like to tell you a little story, Children.
In the Category of: “ ‘I Can’t Believe I was That Stupid’ for 500, please Alex.”
Let us flash back to the 1980’s (which is one of my favourite things to do).
I was out of work and broke. I was living with two other people and the rent coming due extremely quickly. I hadn’t been out of work for more than a couple of days when I got back at finding a job and I tackled the task with a vengeance.
*Grabbed the newspaper at 6:30 am EVERY morning.
*On the phone scouting companies by 8:30 am (when most businesses open).
*Had a stack of my resumes in the mailbox by 9:00 am.
*Spending my afternoons on my feet hand delivering more resumes.
You get the picture. Not just the whole nine yards but more like the entire football field.
It was a couple of weeks later and even though I had been on several interviews, there just didn’t seem to be a job that “fit” me. I was seeking work in an office environment and I could do just about anything and everything: Reception, typing, bookkeeping, switchboard, invoicing, organizing, filing, and even coffee making. If it was in an office, I was ready to put my hand to it. Yet, I just couldn’t seem to find a position that would utilize ALL my skills. Every office that I applied to seem to want an expert in one specific area, but not someone who could do several things competently.
By then I had used up my savings to pay my share of the rent that had just passed, but knew I had better start earning some money fast if I wanted to have another pay check by the end of the next month.
I was going through a Saturday paper and my mother was sitting nearby. I was looking through the paper but because it was the weekend I had no plans to go out. I was flipping through the Classifieds (which was the main way a person found a job back before we had computers) and discussing with my mother my lack of success in finding a job. Telling her many of the things I am telling you now. Simply put, I had never been in a position where someone didn’t “snap me up” to work for them.
Mom came and looked over my shoulder and noticed that I had circled several ads in the paper. She also noticed that there were many ads stating , “WANTED: Girl Friday”. She pointed to one and said, “This one sounds perfect. They need a person who has all the skills you have. It would be perfect for you.”
I responded, “ That’s been my biggest problem. All the ‘Girl Friday’ ads are exactly right for me, but I need a job that employs me more than one day a week.”
Now, my Mom has a very special look that she gives to me every once in a while. It is best described as a short of ‘loving melancholy’ expression. Having seen it many times in my life, I knew exactly what it meant. She gives it to me whenever she thinks I’m being extremely sweet and adorable, but she is about to have to tell me something about “Life” that is going to rob me of a piece of my innocence.
I recognized the look on her face and knew that I had gotten something wrong about the “Girl Friday” issue. She simply asked me, “Sweetheart, have you ever read the book ‘Robinson Crusoe’?” My mind started going “chicketty-chicketty-chicketty” and suddenly I understood!
Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on an island and discovered a native living there. He found him on a Friday and named him, “Friday”. Friday did all sorts of different and varied jobs for Crusoe and ever since then whenever somebody asks for a “Man Friday” or a “Girl Friday” it means they want someone who can do several tasks. Exactly the kind of job that would have been PERFECT for me! You think Homer Simpson is the first one who said, “Doh!” ? Nope. It was me at that precise moment. And I said it so loudly that the echo can still be heard reverberating through the mountains that surround Vancouver, British Columbia.
Now I have enough distance from the event to put it in the category of: “Thus is Life” & “Live and Learn”. Life (aka. The School of Hard Knocks) can be very harsh sometimes but you learn. By God, you learn!
It was a great disappointment to me, but by Monday morning I had a major stack of resumes to mail and pass out and in less than a week I had my new job.
I believe that God has a big Plan for my life and everything that happens to me is for a purpose, and so I can rest knowing that, no matter what, He was and is looking after me and out for me.
To the non-believer, it may have looked like God had ‘cut me loose’, but it didn’t take me long to find out that He was actually guiding me to a very specific job. If I had known what “Girl Friday” meant right from the start of my job hunt, I probably would have secured a job very quickly. I would have missed out on the job that I did get and I would not have learned the invaluable lesson of “Patience”. And Patience doesn’t just fall into our laps. It has to be taught. Just like “Faith” has to be honed and crafted before it is turned into something useful (which also takes a goodly amount of time).
I got the job that was best for me, I never went without having money for my job, I learned (again) that my mother bleeds and feels for me ALL THE TIME, that God is involved in my daily life and that what sort of person I become is important to Him. And I learned how to laugh even in the midst of hard times. And if you don’t have a sense of humour, your Life will be endured instead of experienced. Filled with adversity instead of adventure. And that’s not much of a way to live. I’d rather thrive instead of merely exist and if I have to face hardship and heartache to do that, then so be it.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanted anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. …
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation,” (2 Peter 3:9,15)
