Tuesday, July 6, 2010

In Place or Out?

I work in an office building with an underground parking garage. It's a well-kept building, very clean and tidy. I park whenever possible in the same spot (as many people do). I rarely see trash, but when I do, I'll pick it up and place it in the handy receptacle just outside the elevator vestibule.

Last week though, I noticed a screw on the floor. A bright shiny brand-new screw. Near my Mariner, which is about 18-months old, so there shouldn't be any screws falling from it -- even new-looking screws. I thought it might have fallen from something vital and be needed by someone. So I moved it to the side next to a wall (out of tire range) and left it. I've seen it there every day, a brand-new screw, very capable of holding something together, or even serving as a bit of ornament with its wide shiny head. But somehow it fell out of place -- long before its expected end of service time. Was it in the wrong place at the beginning, not properly tightened or should it have been re-tightened from time to time to ensure permanence in the assigned spot?

How many of us have fallen out of place? How many spots have I been slotted into, but either didn't get the straight start, didn't fit properly or just fell out because I wasn't properly or periodically tightened? In my 50 years I've gone through a few "lives" .. (listed here and deleted on second thought) .. so I wonder .. am I finally in the right spot? Did God mean for me to jump around as I have done in my life? Was I meant to be a stay-in-place solid screw or an itinerant screw, periodically finding a new spot to fill .. a spot where I can be of service or ornament?

What about you? If you were a screw, what would you be holding together and how long? What have you fallen from, and why?

Friday, July 2, 2010

Adjusting

The big move was six months ago today.

We're still adjusting.

But at a company event recently, another couple talked of their adjustment issues .. their move was more welcome, and longer ago, and they're still dealing with adjustment.

So I think we'll survive.

Work is finally  more like the old normal rather than the pressure cooker it has been for the last year. I love what I do, and what our company does for not only our clients but the world as a whole. I suppose I've always been an idealist of sorts: The jobs and activities that give me the most satisfaction are those that are service-oriented: holistic, organic, giving, helping others. The eight months I spent as a shopping mall marketing director were torture, even though I enjoyed parts of the job: deep down inside I knew that luring people to spend money on unnecessary things was wrong for me.

But God had placed me there to learn a bit about about facility management and dealing with those who take care of large places like malls and schools and such. He had a plan.

He has a plan now. I'm willing, Lord, to be part of Your plan.

Sometimes I wish I had a clearer vision of what that is.