I didn't want it.
I sat in that chair letting my mind wander as she spat out all these words that sounded pretty rehearsed, but also pretty convincing. It was obvious that she had given this exact same "sermon" to a couple of other people and I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be the last. She said everything she knew I wanted to hear and a whole lot of stuff that were intended to invoke all kinds of emotions - determination, perseverance, fear, ambition. Unfortunately, I had my mind made up, and nothing she was saying was going to change it. I wasn't withdrawing my resignation.
It had been a week and a half since I'd taken the job and here I was, sitting opposite the boss, explaining that my last day was right around the corner. This job was packaged as almost everything I had hoped and prayed for - I could make thousands of dollars, I could get promoted really fast, I could be a business owner within 12 months if I was ready to do what it all required, I could get sponsored and take advantage of the work visa. I could. I was looking for an opportunity, and here was one. I had taken advantage of it. But a week and a half had taught me a really fundamental lesson.
When you go to a hotel and make a reservation, you get a room on one floor. There could be a million rooms in that hotel, but only one will have your name on it. You can get in the elevator and stop at every single floor, and get off. You can try to use your key to unlock the other doors in hopes of success. However, until you stop at your floor, and go to your room, you have no access to adequate shelter. The rest of the hotel will have things you might need - a restaurant, a fitness center, a pool, maybe even a casino or game room, but all those are just amenities. Your reservation is a room.
This job was going to give me everything I wanted for the long term, but knocking on peoples doors and convincing them that they needed a fibre optic network for cable and internet was completely uncomfortable for me. The motivation from my boss and co-workers sounded good but did nothing for me. Everyone at work thought I absolutely loved my job, but every one in my personal life knew I felt like it was a complete disaster. I have never been a quitter, and I have always understood that the only thing that brings success is hard work. My daily prayer at the moment became "God, Help me. I don't know if 'help' means another job, a change of perspective about this one, or tremendous success at it, but I need your help." As the days passed by, I began to understand that the great discomfort that came with this opportunity was no coincidence. One person had told me "Se, this job isn't your job." Another asked me, "Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are you fulfilled?" A week and a half was all it took for me to realize that this opportunity that could eventually give me everything that I wanted, wasn't for me.
Living a life of purpose requires us to understand how to handle opportunities that come our way. Opportunities are like hotel rooms. Many opportunities are available to you in life, but not every opportunity is for you. Many of them will be far reaching, but some of them will fall on your lap on a platter of gold and shine like the miracle you have been waiting for, but until you understand that your purpose is greater than some opportunities, you will be stuck on an elevator, getting off at every floor, trying to unlock every door in hopes of success.
Prayer and the spirit of discernment are so important when making important decisions and taking advantage of opportunities that come your way. God wants you to wait on him. Sometimes he might literally place in your path things that look like all you've ever wanted, hoped, and prayed for, just to see if you will wait on him. You might have to say some hard no's and goodbye's. You might get very uncomfortable. You might have to turn around and go back to the drawing board. But waiting on God is ever so important. If you want to skip to how the story ends, this is it right here. I'm still waiting on God. I dont have a job or anything that I had hoped and prayed for, and I promise you, it gets hard trying to understand what God is doing sometimes. But then again, my business is not to try to understand what He is doing. My business is to wait on him. To wait for his plan to prevail. To wait for the right opportunity; To get off on the right floor, and open the room with my name on it. Then everything else will just be an amenity; icing on the cake.
Thats a week and a half... as i do it.
~***Shanpepe***~
Photo Credit 1 Photo Credit 2 Photo Credit 3
I sat in that chair letting my mind wander as she spat out all these words that sounded pretty rehearsed, but also pretty convincing. It was obvious that she had given this exact same "sermon" to a couple of other people and I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be the last. She said everything she knew I wanted to hear and a whole lot of stuff that were intended to invoke all kinds of emotions - determination, perseverance, fear, ambition. Unfortunately, I had my mind made up, and nothing she was saying was going to change it. I wasn't withdrawing my resignation.
It had been a week and a half since I'd taken the job and here I was, sitting opposite the boss, explaining that my last day was right around the corner. This job was packaged as almost everything I had hoped and prayed for - I could make thousands of dollars, I could get promoted really fast, I could be a business owner within 12 months if I was ready to do what it all required, I could get sponsored and take advantage of the work visa. I could. I was looking for an opportunity, and here was one. I had taken advantage of it. But a week and a half had taught me a really fundamental lesson.
When you go to a hotel and make a reservation, you get a room on one floor. There could be a million rooms in that hotel, but only one will have your name on it. You can get in the elevator and stop at every single floor, and get off. You can try to use your key to unlock the other doors in hopes of success. However, until you stop at your floor, and go to your room, you have no access to adequate shelter. The rest of the hotel will have things you might need - a restaurant, a fitness center, a pool, maybe even a casino or game room, but all those are just amenities. Your reservation is a room.
This job was going to give me everything I wanted for the long term, but knocking on peoples doors and convincing them that they needed a fibre optic network for cable and internet was completely uncomfortable for me. The motivation from my boss and co-workers sounded good but did nothing for me. Everyone at work thought I absolutely loved my job, but every one in my personal life knew I felt like it was a complete disaster. I have never been a quitter, and I have always understood that the only thing that brings success is hard work. My daily prayer at the moment became "God, Help me. I don't know if 'help' means another job, a change of perspective about this one, or tremendous success at it, but I need your help." As the days passed by, I began to understand that the great discomfort that came with this opportunity was no coincidence. One person had told me "Se, this job isn't your job." Another asked me, "Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are you fulfilled?" A week and a half was all it took for me to realize that this opportunity that could eventually give me everything that I wanted, wasn't for me.
Living a life of purpose requires us to understand how to handle opportunities that come our way. Opportunities are like hotel rooms. Many opportunities are available to you in life, but not every opportunity is for you. Many of them will be far reaching, but some of them will fall on your lap on a platter of gold and shine like the miracle you have been waiting for, but until you understand that your purpose is greater than some opportunities, you will be stuck on an elevator, getting off at every floor, trying to unlock every door in hopes of success.
Prayer and the spirit of discernment are so important when making important decisions and taking advantage of opportunities that come your way. God wants you to wait on him. Sometimes he might literally place in your path things that look like all you've ever wanted, hoped, and prayed for, just to see if you will wait on him. You might have to say some hard no's and goodbye's. You might get very uncomfortable. You might have to turn around and go back to the drawing board. But waiting on God is ever so important. If you want to skip to how the story ends, this is it right here. I'm still waiting on God. I dont have a job or anything that I had hoped and prayed for, and I promise you, it gets hard trying to understand what God is doing sometimes. But then again, my business is not to try to understand what He is doing. My business is to wait on him. To wait for his plan to prevail. To wait for the right opportunity; To get off on the right floor, and open the room with my name on it. Then everything else will just be an amenity; icing on the cake.
~***Shanpepe***~
Photo Credit 1 Photo Credit 2 Photo Credit 3
