Let's not go any further without inviting the Holy Spirit to lead our time together:
Lord, our Father, the Maker of All Things, Creator, Lord of Heaven and Earth, Redeemer . . . I can go on and on praising your glorious name. We are so grateful that our time on earth can be meaningful, instead of empty and useless. Today of all days, I am filled with a sense of Your purpose for each one of us, and I pray that you touch every eye on this page and anoint them with an incredible impression of Your plan for their lives!
Let today be one of awe and eye-opening insight to the lives we are touching, the fates we are affecting, the impact we are making in Your Kingdom. Show us how we are serving Your Purpose and let us praise you with shouts, and dancing, and joyful weeping! In the name of Jesus, Your Son, amen.
Yesterday we spoke of living with passion, and how it is intricately tied to living in integrity. Many years ago I was out of work and looking hard. I was living with friends, still a teen, and my only possessions were clothes, makeup, and a little, blue pickup.
I had applied at Thom McAn Shoes in the Merced (CA) Mall and was turned down over and over. I found out later my reputation had preceded me. For quite a few months earlier I worked at Hickory Farms, in the same mall. For most of the day, the other girls and I "sampled" cheeses and sausages to the customers . . . and to ourselves. In fact, I probably gained a good 15 lbs. working at H.F.!
My girlfriends and I didn't have any problem helping ourselves to those little packages H.F. puts out for Christmas gifts, either - you know the ones. Wooden boxes filled with packing straw and a couple of sausages and cheese. Let's just say honesty and integrity weren't my strong suits. Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before my name stopped showing up on the work schedule.
So hungry, bored, seeing my options dwindling, I made it a mission to get hired at Thom McAn. Every day I got dressed up - did the hair, the makeup, the works, and marched down to T.M. to flirt with, goad, plead, and pressure the manager to hire me. After weeks of putting me off, he finally offered me a part-time job. Now, this was really part-time, like a couple of hours a week.
Soon after, the manager let me know why he hadn't hired me before. My former boss had black-listed me in the mall, telling everyone not to hire me. Well, this was like putting a red cape in front of a bull. I decided I was going to be the most successful employee Thom McAn ever saw, and make that former employer eat his words.
Well, I probably wasn't the most successful employee ever, but for the next two years I did very well, winning Top Sales of the Month repeatedly and rapidly advancing in rank. I really enjoyed sales, and if there is a promotional carrot in front of me, I can't wait to achieve it, that's just part of my competitive make-up.
Within a half a year, I was promoted to Assistant Manager of my store. Within another few months I was transferred to a larger store for more training towards management. Since I continued to excel in sales, I began to train other employees and I found I had a passion for teaching and for helping others. As they improved and began to succeed, I felt successful, as well.
Despite being told repeatedly that Thom McAn upper management didn't promote women (this was in mid 80's), within two years of being hired, I became manager of my own store. Soon after was promoted to Area Manager, overseeing three stores that were struggling, and helping to bring them up in sales and productivity.
I'm told I was the first woman to receive the coveted "Rookie of the Year" award, on top of numerous Top Store Sales and Top Individual Sales awards to boot. From the age of 19 to 21, I went from being unemployable to earning more money than I had dreamed possible for my age.
Now, I am not telling you this to toot my own horn. Nor did I never have another job challenge, or go on to live a life of perfect integrity and instant success wherever I went. But, this is a great example of what a huge difference a change in attitude and integrity can make in your circumstances.
What made the difference for me? At first it was sheer determination. But, that drive could only take me so far. The real difference was that I learned I had a gift, and a desire, to help others. The more I helped, the more I acheived, the more I got excited and passionate about my job!
People entered my store with problem. I listened to what their problem was, and helped them solve it. I made their needs more important than my own for that time being, and as I helped them, my own desire for making sales was fulfilled in the process. In addition, I took "ownership" in my stores and in my employees. I saw their success as my own.
Now, I am not trying to turn my sales job into a lofty mission, but to make a point. I stopped trying to see what I could get from my job, and discovered I could succeed, by giving to it, instead.
There is a saying that the only you take to your grave is your character. I would add, that you can only get away with a lack of integrity for so long before you are found out.
God says it many ways. Read Proverbs 10:9
"He who walks with _________ walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become ________."
Let's pray:
Father, you know our hearts and our weaknesses. Protect us from ourselves, Lord! Help us to value a clean conscience above all. Give us a passion for our jobs, our friendships, our marriages, and our missions.
Help us to feel Your pleasure when we choose to honor You with our behavior, with our words, and with our treatment of others in our path. I thank you for giving us a means to judge right from wrong. And I thank you for the joy we feel when we help someone else, and see that their success is our own. In Your holy name, amen.
Love, Karen
Photo by Graur Razvan Ionut, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
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