Thursday, September 24, 2009

Our struggles can be blessings!

For anyone that knows me very closely, they will tell you that I've struggled with some work changes lately. There really is nothing wrong with my new job, I just had a hard time getting used to a change in routine. My previous position afforded me an opportunity to attend Mass almost every weekday; the new position not so much. The old position had very few meetings, seminars, travel; the new position lots more. The new position required that I stretch and learn responsibilities I had avoided for 15 years. At times, I struggled with wanting to do things my way and the new responsibilities of my new position.

I also struggled with balance. Under normal circumstances they tell us that newly ordained Deacons must be aware of this. For so many rapid changes at work in just the first few months after ordination, I really got out of whack. After almost 5 months in my new position at work, I'm refocused on the blessings and that has made quite a difference in my outlook.

First, I have focused on the centuries old saying of St. Benedict: ora et labora. Translated, this means prayer and work. I pray more at work these days and no, I don't always pray Lord get me through another day. I must admit, I do sometimes. But now my prayer is thanksgiving for full employment, for coworkers and even clients. Secondly, my new position has given me the opportunity to get to know and work closely with a wonderful team of people; people I would never had an opportunity to know so well. I have learned to admire and respect different leadership styles and communication techniques. And, because the team is so much fun, I realized one day I was laughing at work more often.

I mentioned meetings. Yesterday I, along with a couple of hundred of my new best friends, attended a leadership conference where we heard from the founder and CEO of my company. What struck me most was the guy was down to earth and spoke "our" language. He seemed to know what our top frustration points were and admitted it. And then, near the end of the day, he spoke eloquently and passionately about his family. Then he did what we are all called to do as people of faith; he emptied himself for a moment and let us see his humble side. He related a story of his young daughter who intrepted his action at home one day as heartbreaking. She drew her dad a little picture. One side of the page said good daddy. The other side said bad daddy. On the good side, there were check boxes from top to bottom ending with the box titled best daddy. The other side had check boxes ending with a box titled worst daddy. On this side, she drew a broken heart. Oh, by the way, she had checked one box on the broken-hearted side.
A seemingly insignificant moment in his life was a heart breaker for his precious little girl.

His story allowed all of us to watch a very successful CEO teach us what really matters: things like faith, family and friends.

Yes, blessings come from those every day events, the unexpected events, the seemingly mundane struggles of every day life.

I pray tonight for all the grace and peace that God sends my way to face every day with courage. I need to learn to worry less about what I do not know and reach out for help from those who can help me; and return the favor when the shoe is on the other foot. And my prayer is to cherish every day as a gift. God knows hearts and intentions. Yes, He knows that I want to spend more time at Mass, in church. But He also asks me to bring Him with me wherever I go; to work, meeting clients, doing tasks that I never had to do before.

So God has shown me in recent weeks and days that those things we think are struggles are indeed blessings. So tommorrow I will get up, remember Ora et Labora and ask God as David did in the 90th Psalm: prosper the work of our hands!

St. Joseph the worker, pray for us.

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