I realize that some people live sheltered lives in Indiana or their home town. It reminds me of that movie, “The Truman Show” where he thought it was the real world. Truman was manipulated his whole life in to believing his world was the real world, but it was a staged life so others could watch him grow up on television. His producers created his family and everything around Truman. Some people have worked one job their whole life.
I met someone
who lost his wife and he does not have many life experiences to go outside of
his world like Truman since she is gone. He is not comfortable in this
new world that exists and definitely not the new world of technology to try
online dating. Online dating is just one way to meet a person besides
meetup groups, through friends, church, or other single groups. It worked
well for me in the past in meeting my husband when nothing else worked, so I’ve
not given up on it now in the present.
I’ve got a guy
who has decided to meet me through online dating who first he decided not to
meet me for someone else. He had the courtesy to at least break off the
first screening date at a restaurant, and I emailed him, “I wish you the best of
luck.” That is because it is not wise to burn
bridges in life.
Joseph told the
two prisoners his dream and finally after two full years the one remembered his
dream, we never know what we do in the past with a person even in jail
for Joseph had an impact on his future. Joseph’s brothers, his
former owner, and this cupbearer had been jerks.
But when all
goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and
get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the
Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a
dungeon." Genesis 40:14
The chief
cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. When two full years
had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: Genesis 40: 23-24
Then the chief
cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.
Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief
baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream
the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was
there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams,
and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his
dream. Genesis 41: 9-12
This outside
world is rather colder compared to when he was in his 20’s before he met his wife.
Not coming home to a loving wife from his job of many years.
He told me that he was going to focus his attention on his two cats
that he knows accepts him and go home to them. My goal is to get him out
of staying in Truman’s world as much as possible by introducing him to others I
have networked with through many churches and single groups.
It reminds me of
a “bubble” we can live in at times and even in the book of Job – Satan talked
about a hedge. (Have you not put a hedge around him and
his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so
that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. Job 1:10)
For me getting
out of Indiana was a real eye-opener as a young single mother when I joined a
traveling missionary tent revival. In the traveling group I went to
Nashville, Tennessee, Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Florida; Norfolk,
Virginia, Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Escondido, shared on Hollywood
Blvd., Riverside, California and Weldon, Illinois. We lived
typically 1 or 2 months at each location. The elders of that ministry
said they would not send me overseas on a mission trip because I was a single
parent and they felt it was too harsh on a single parent being alone.
Our elders
allowed us to stay in different Christian’s homes that we met in the community
as long as we had a buddy. I met a lot of church people in the
different communities, and there were 250 people in our group. Some of
our group left to go to Europe, India, South America, Russia, Italy, etc.
Two of my buddies in this group were from teams that were recruited from
Sweden. It took me quite some type to adjust to their personalities which
seemed to be a little harsh. Same with some others I met who were from
New Jersey and out east.
I met my husband
in that ministry and after about two years of marriage, he went to Bible
college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After his graduation, we went to various
churches in Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Jackson,
Mississippi and a few other states as music ministers looking for full time
ministry. I supported my husband on two missionary trips to
India. After our children were born, we went through a divorce, so
I moved back to my home state of Indiana to better support the children being a
single parent with support of my parents.
I have worked a
total of about 50 different jobs at different companies in Indiana,
Jacksonville Florida, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some were temporary jobs while
my children were growing up which could be a day, a week, a month or more.
I worked two permanent part time jobs. Then I’ve worked full times
at an insurance company, sales company, manufacturing company, three different
hospitals, and two different universities. I worked 7 l/2 years at
Methodist Hospital, 5 years at Ivy Tech Community College and 12 years at the
university where I work now. At a university, I worked around faculty,
staff and students, at three different hospitals, we had patients and
physicians besides staff. The part-time jobs I worked at were a legal
bond firm for attorneys and a temporary agency doing their bookkeeping in
Jacksonville, Florida, we had clients and employees.
On most of my
jobs, there has been usually some way I could share the gospel even in a little
way.
I lack
experience in living in a different country and I’m glad my children got to
live in Australia and now my son lives in Hong Kong. It’s that we can
have a limited vision and scope of understanding the world and people. I
was thinking how for 20 years I’ve prayed for the country of India. Then
I ended up working with many students from India at work. I had prayed
that scripture for India, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Acts 2:8”
The most
important experience of my life is that no person is too insignificant to help,
no person is too needy, or too small in church, at work or in the community.
while our
presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together,
giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should
be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for
each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is
honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Cor. 12:24-26
We have the
example of a pathetic life form which was Lazarus begging at the gates of the
castle of the rich man. He was such a pathetic life form that the dogs
licked his sores ---he died and angels took him straight to Abraham’s bosom.
The rich man died and he went to a place of torment. It’s a good
example not to close our ears to the cries of the poor and needy. It reminds me
of America and the people from Mexico or Haiti going through the perils to just
get into our borders. Won’t you let me into your castle or borders
America?
I worked at this
small hospital and within the two weeks of my hire, my manager yelled at me
three times. I asked the former administrative assistant who worked with
him how she put up with his behavior and she said that she just let it roll off
her back. I was a more sensitive person than that so finally, I
just told him, “I’m not putting up with your behavior.” I had interviewed
with the HR person who was like a puppy dog, not my manager who was a CFO. When
I met one of my former managers from Methodist Hospital and told him he was a
CFO of a hospital, he said – “No wonder since that hospital eventually went
under financially.” I asked the HR person to get me out of the contract
with the agency I went through. I had gone through that agency for many
temporary assignments with law firms, but now they treated me like a scumbag.
I ended up
staying 2 or 3 months in the position and the manager treated me better.
In fact, I ended up covering for the president’s assistant many time although
they made up a lame excuse with the agency that I did not take phone messages
right to get rid of me. That is what I ended up covering for the
President’s assistant is the phone messages that I was not capable of handling.
I’m telling you
a long story to say that I try not to burn bridges in life with people, but if
I burn a bridge with a company, I do my best to stay until I get the job left
in a good manner, no matter what a jerk my manager was to me. We are not to
reward jerky behavior (evil) for evil, but we are to reward good behavior for
evil. It’s what I do now when someone
has hurt me is I continually pray for them and say, “God bless them Jesus.”
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong
for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone
else. 1 Thess. 5:15
Evil will never leave the house of one
who pays back evil for good. Proverbs 17:13
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