"2 by 4" Moment
Sometimes God speaks to you in that still, quiet voice.
And other times He uses a 2x4 upside your head. I'm in one of those moments right now.
First, it's been a great summer! My family all took separate vacations this year - the Big Guy went to Arizona for a week, I ended up in Colorado the week after, and while I was gone, M took all the kids and ran to Mother's.
That was MY mother, not hers. Let me explain:
No, that will take too long. Let my summarize.
I had the chance to attend a class on voice mail that happened to be in Colorado. Now, I know perfectly well how to leave a message and retrieve others, thank you very much. It wasn't that kind of class. This was an installation and configuration class - how to put it all together. And it was on the one product I absolutely despise. Every tech has their favorite products and their least. This is mine.
The best part of the whole thing is that I was only an hour or so away from Darin and Kathy, whom I haven't seen in years. So a couple of nights I drove to their place to play catch up. I watched one of their Ultimate Frisbee games (when I told M about the game she immediately said "Don't you play!" Thanks, Hon. Actually, this isn't a comment so much about my lack of physical ability as it is about running around at a mile high when you've lived most of your life within a few hundred feet of sea level. I tossed the Frisbee around and was winded after just a little bit. It was the altitude, honest!)
During this week M decided not to stay at home but instead went up to Vermont to see Grandma and let the kids swim in her pool and to see our new nephew.
The week before all this, the Big Guy went off with a group of teens from our church as part of a Missions / VBS tour of two Reservations. A Dentist Missionary did free dental care while the kids participated in a short VBS. Everyone seemed to have a blast and this was definitely a stretch for our new teenager. Ironically, Darin and Kathy, who are experiencing a new teenager of their own, sent Caleb a copy of Do Hard Things that arrived while he was gone doing... something hard.
Do Hard Things is an excellent challenge for young people to use their teen years to grow and experience real living. It's an anti-slacker mentality and is awesome. It's even good for old guys like me and I highly recommend it.
Then there was our church VBS. I've been writing the puppet skit and planning the opening and closing portion to each night but of course I put off a lot of it too long and had to scramble to finish on time - Guess I should have read that book sooner! For our very first VBS we had about 40 kids. Not too shabby for being the n00b church in town. What's also awesome is that our kids raised over $400 in pennies! I feel sorry for our church secretary, but all that went to one of our missionaries. Whoot!
So now I'm getting ready for the First Lego League. We had a small Lego Club last year and we learned about the Lego NXT robots and how to program them. Now we're ready to compete in the challenges. I just received the packet of material so we'll begin our meetings soon. Probably in September.
So what's this "2x4 Moment" I'm talking about? For that, I have to back up about 10 years.
At that time I was working for a small manufacturer that was barely making payroll. We in "management" always made sure the "techs" (there were 4 of us and 5 of them) could cash their paychecks. Fortunately, that usually only meant until Tuesday the next week, and then we'd be good for a week or two before we had to hold on to our paychecks. Well, I had a wife and two kids in diapers. I couldn't live like that. So I thought about what I could do and came to a conclusion.
I'd been in charge of the company's LAN and phone system, and had become pretty proficient in both. Maybe I could do something with that. My real job was Materials Manager - Shipping, Receiving, Parts Inventory.... you get the idea. If we used it, I knew the part number and vendor and probably the cost, too. As in many small companies you have to wear several hats at once and I was no exception.
So I wrote up a resume and on a Monday drove over to the company where we had purchased our phone system a few years previously and asked for the office manager. The salesperson said he was out so I handed her my letter and resume and asked if she would make sure he got it. She said she would, and that was that.
I found out later that the Sales Manager looked at my resume and said "Maybe the Service Manager can use him." Two days later I got a call from the Service Manager, Mike. "We just happen to be hiring two technicians for the state of Vermont. We have testing going on Friday. You WILL take the aptitude test. So I did.
A few days after that Mike called me again. "You ARE coming in for an interview with me and the Regional Supervisor." And I did. This wasn't much of an interview. It was "When will you start?" That was 10 years ago and my official anniversary is next week.
That's what I mean by a "2x4 Moment." I had no idea in the world they were hiring and that I just squeaked in the deadline. This was so perfectly timed that I couldn't help but know this was given to me by God. You ask for a clear sign, here it is. You asked for a good job, here it is.
And so, knowing that God provided this job and has used it to meet our needs and allowed us to give back to the churches we've attended, knowing that He used this company to move us - twice - and each time blessed us again with learning opportunities, I know it is of God that I will soon find myself at a new company in a new position.
We are going through a "force adjustment" - that means lay-offs. I've survived a few rounds over the last decade but not now (it IS possible that I'll keep this position, for God can do anything. I strongly doubt it, for the handwriting is clearly on the wall this time). One of my coworkers asked if I was angry, seeing as how we just hired two techs last year and now we're getting rid of one (both have seniority over me so you could argue that they took my job). No, I said. I'm not angry. I'm not angry at them, or our manager, or even the company. If God wants me to have this job, then I will. If not, then He will provide another. It's as simple as that.
Now, I'm not stupid (no, really, I'm not!) so I'm not just waiting around. God didn't just drop me off at my current job, He expected me to apply for it and smoothed out the path. So I'm sure that's what He'll do again. I've already sent one resume off and had a favorable phone conversation with Human Recourses. We'll see what happens next.
So maybe this is an opportunity to do something hard. Whatever happens, this is an opportunity to trust God and not worry or panic. I like to think I've been maturing over the past 10 years. Before, I didn't understand what was happening until after that 2x4 landed. Now, out of the corner of my eye, I see God getting ready to swing.
And I'm ready to see something amazing.
And other times He uses a 2x4 upside your head. I'm in one of those moments right now.
First, it's been a great summer! My family all took separate vacations this year - the Big Guy went to Arizona for a week, I ended up in Colorado the week after, and while I was gone, M took all the kids and ran to Mother's.
That was MY mother, not hers. Let me explain:
No, that will take too long. Let my summarize.
I had the chance to attend a class on voice mail that happened to be in Colorado. Now, I know perfectly well how to leave a message and retrieve others, thank you very much. It wasn't that kind of class. This was an installation and configuration class - how to put it all together. And it was on the one product I absolutely despise. Every tech has their favorite products and their least. This is mine.
The best part of the whole thing is that I was only an hour or so away from Darin and Kathy, whom I haven't seen in years. So a couple of nights I drove to their place to play catch up. I watched one of their Ultimate Frisbee games (when I told M about the game she immediately said "Don't you play!" Thanks, Hon. Actually, this isn't a comment so much about my lack of physical ability as it is about running around at a mile high when you've lived most of your life within a few hundred feet of sea level. I tossed the Frisbee around and was winded after just a little bit. It was the altitude, honest!)
During this week M decided not to stay at home but instead went up to Vermont to see Grandma and let the kids swim in her pool and to see our new nephew.
The week before all this, the Big Guy went off with a group of teens from our church as part of a Missions / VBS tour of two Reservations. A Dentist Missionary did free dental care while the kids participated in a short VBS. Everyone seemed to have a blast and this was definitely a stretch for our new teenager. Ironically, Darin and Kathy, who are experiencing a new teenager of their own, sent Caleb a copy of Do Hard Things that arrived while he was gone doing... something hard.
Do Hard Things is an excellent challenge for young people to use their teen years to grow and experience real living. It's an anti-slacker mentality and is awesome. It's even good for old guys like me and I highly recommend it.
Then there was our church VBS. I've been writing the puppet skit and planning the opening and closing portion to each night but of course I put off a lot of it too long and had to scramble to finish on time - Guess I should have read that book sooner! For our very first VBS we had about 40 kids. Not too shabby for being the n00b church in town. What's also awesome is that our kids raised over $400 in pennies! I feel sorry for our church secretary, but all that went to one of our missionaries. Whoot!
So now I'm getting ready for the First Lego League. We had a small Lego Club last year and we learned about the Lego NXT robots and how to program them. Now we're ready to compete in the challenges. I just received the packet of material so we'll begin our meetings soon. Probably in September.
So what's this "2x4 Moment" I'm talking about? For that, I have to back up about 10 years.
At that time I was working for a small manufacturer that was barely making payroll. We in "management" always made sure the "techs" (there were 4 of us and 5 of them) could cash their paychecks. Fortunately, that usually only meant until Tuesday the next week, and then we'd be good for a week or two before we had to hold on to our paychecks. Well, I had a wife and two kids in diapers. I couldn't live like that. So I thought about what I could do and came to a conclusion.
I'd been in charge of the company's LAN and phone system, and had become pretty proficient in both. Maybe I could do something with that. My real job was Materials Manager - Shipping, Receiving, Parts Inventory.... you get the idea. If we used it, I knew the part number and vendor and probably the cost, too. As in many small companies you have to wear several hats at once and I was no exception.
So I wrote up a resume and on a Monday drove over to the company where we had purchased our phone system a few years previously and asked for the office manager. The salesperson said he was out so I handed her my letter and resume and asked if she would make sure he got it. She said she would, and that was that.
I found out later that the Sales Manager looked at my resume and said "Maybe the Service Manager can use him." Two days later I got a call from the Service Manager, Mike. "We just happen to be hiring two technicians for the state of Vermont. We have testing going on Friday. You WILL take the aptitude test. So I did.
A few days after that Mike called me again. "You ARE coming in for an interview with me and the Regional Supervisor." And I did. This wasn't much of an interview. It was "When will you start?" That was 10 years ago and my official anniversary is next week.
That's what I mean by a "2x4 Moment." I had no idea in the world they were hiring and that I just squeaked in the deadline. This was so perfectly timed that I couldn't help but know this was given to me by God. You ask for a clear sign, here it is. You asked for a good job, here it is.
And so, knowing that God provided this job and has used it to meet our needs and allowed us to give back to the churches we've attended, knowing that He used this company to move us - twice - and each time blessed us again with learning opportunities, I know it is of God that I will soon find myself at a new company in a new position.
We are going through a "force adjustment" - that means lay-offs. I've survived a few rounds over the last decade but not now (it IS possible that I'll keep this position, for God can do anything. I strongly doubt it, for the handwriting is clearly on the wall this time). One of my coworkers asked if I was angry, seeing as how we just hired two techs last year and now we're getting rid of one (both have seniority over me so you could argue that they took my job). No, I said. I'm not angry. I'm not angry at them, or our manager, or even the company. If God wants me to have this job, then I will. If not, then He will provide another. It's as simple as that.
Now, I'm not stupid (no, really, I'm not!) so I'm not just waiting around. God didn't just drop me off at my current job, He expected me to apply for it and smoothed out the path. So I'm sure that's what He'll do again. I've already sent one resume off and had a favorable phone conversation with Human Recourses. We'll see what happens next.
So maybe this is an opportunity to do something hard. Whatever happens, this is an opportunity to trust God and not worry or panic. I like to think I've been maturing over the past 10 years. Before, I didn't understand what was happening until after that 2x4 landed. Now, out of the corner of my eye, I see God getting ready to swing.
And I'm ready to see something amazing.
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