Potential Endeavors

As I begin my journey looking for the next phase of my career, I can’t help but compare what I am going through to a “free agent” in professional sports. A free agent has to put together their career accomplishments and stats and put a compelling case together why another team would want to spend their money on you. There are all kinds of free agents – there are those that everybody wants but only few can afford, there are those that you’ve heard about but the team has to spend more time with to see that they are the right fit for the organization, there are others who are the missing pieces a team feels they need to make them better.When I think about myself, what are my career stats? What skills, production, intangibles do I bring to the table that would make another team want me? What are my skills worth? Do you look for where you can make the most money or where you feel it is the right fit, even at less money than others can offer? How do you market yourself? Do you relay on your past successes to speak for themselves, rely on the word of mouth of past team mates or peers or agressively market yourself with a stat book and DVD of yourself?Now in human terms this would all be overwhelming, but as a Christ follower, I have a great Agent (God). God has a plan for my life and He will be there to help open the doors and negotiate the contract. That doesn’t mean I do not have to do anything. I have to take the time to listen to Him, take the time to study His Word, and be willing to follow His paths, no matter what. I have to be able to hear His ideas and be able to speak God’s vision into the opportunity that I may be applying for.Will this be easy? No way – I want to be in control and make things happen. I see the season starting and want to get on a team so that I am ready to play on day one. Allowing things to happen in God’s timing is not always easy, as His timing and plans may be very different than my own. This is why I have to lean into my Agent and trust Him. He has my best interests and wants to see me end up on a team that brings honor and glory to His Kingdom and in the end, His team always wins.

During this Christmas season, I found myself thinking about some of the parrallels in my life to how Mary felt and reacted when she was told that she was going to give birth to the Savior:
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38 NLT)
When I knew that my time at Target was coming to an end, I felt confused and disturbed and did not understand, but I felt God saying to me – “Don’t be afraid”. That night I journaled that I believed this change was driven to remove the “Golden Handcuffs” that I had at Target that would keep me from looking at other opportunities that God had planned for me. And while God’s plan for me is nowhere near His plan for Mary, her response is a lesson for us all: “I am the Lord’s servant”. This has been my prayer through this change in my life – make me Your servant. Help me to see what your plan is for my life.
While I have not had an angel come to me and tell me the plan for my life, I have had many of God’s people come and provide opportunities and encouragement about what the next step should be in my life. There probably won’t be a census that brings me to my new Bethlehem, but I do believe that there will be a door opened that God will call me to walk through and it is up to me to get on my donkey and go through the door and trust that God will provide for financial needs of my family.

The devotional, “Jesus Calling” had this teaching for yesterday December 12th:Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief. Your longing to live close to Me is at odds with your attempts to minimize risk. You are approaching a crossroads in your journey. In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid. Eventually, you will learn to relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together. As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go. – http://bit.ly/eF5kSq What a great challenge for me.  How am I demonstrating that I am willing to go out on a limb with God and be a risk taker.  What does it mean to go out on a limb?  What is taking a risk? Is it making yourself available for a position that does not exist, but that you know you could add value to the organization? Is it applying for a job that fits yours skills, but is an environment that is totally different than what you have done before? Is it looking at jobs or opportunitunities that have eternal value, but pay significantly less than what you used to make?  Is it moving to another state or country to serve Him?God help me to be a risk taker in following You.  Help me to listen to Your voice to hear what You want me to do with the skills and gifts You have given me.  I don’t know what that is, but help me to have a an open mind and to listen to Your voice. You have sent messages to me letting me know You are in control. Help me to continue to listen to those messages.I need to leave it in your hands.  I do not want to get so excited about an opportunity that if it does not work out I get disappointed and stop listening to you.  But I also know that I have to take some risks to make those opportunities become a reality.Thanks for this time to help me to lean on you.  Thanks for your promises to take care of us and to provide for us.  Thanks for the hope you give me of not only this life but more importantly the future we have in You and eternity in heaven.  Help me to hear your voice and follow you in Your plan for my life.

Today I had lunch with a friend who’s wife recently died after a long battle with cancer. While it is sad to know that she is gone, it was amazing to hear how God has provided support for my friend and how God used his wife’s journey with cancer to show how God can provide hope even in the midst of sickness and ultimately death.
While the loss of a job is nothing compared to the loss of a spouse, it was interesting to think about my friend’s journey and how to pull lessons from her life and from my friend’s loss.
I was amazed by the community that surrounded my friend and his wife. Who is the community that is coming with me in my journey?
Her Caring Bridge site was filled with comments on how God was evident in her life and in her journey. Am I letting God lead me in my journey?
The loss of his wife means the beginning of a new phase of his life. My job change is the beginning of a new journey for me.
My friends had opportunities to create some memories and spend some special time together before her death. How do I make sure that I spend some time with family and friends before starting a new job.
My friend’s wife has died and is now in heaven and she has reached the ultimate destination. Her life was a shining example of a life lived well. How do I make sure that what I do with my life is focused on my final destination and not just the things of this world.
I am fortunate to have known these two people in my life and my prayers are with the surviving family as they go through this Christmas season.

Today I had lunch with someone who has been a friend high school. We talked about job changes that we have each recently gone through. As we were finishing our lunch he shared with me how he has viewed me over the years. He shared that he has always seen me as the type of leader who did not need to be in limelight. He remembered that I was a left tackle on the offensive line in our high school football team. He said he always saw me as someone who was content to do the dirty work of blocking for the running backs and protecting the QB’s blindside and did not need to be the star. I had the desire to see the team win and was willing to do what was needed to help the team. Then he shared that is how he has seen me in my professional world as well. This discussion reminded me of I Corinthians 12 where it talks about the parts of the body:The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NLT This brought me to think about my role in leadership. I have always been the left tackle in my jobs. Target wanted me to be the QB, but I knew that was not my leadership skills. As I transition to a new role, it is important to look for a role where I can continue to be the left tackle, be behind the scenes helping the RB’s, WR’s and QB’s be stars. This is where God has gifted me. What is your role? Whatever it is, always strive to be the best in whatever gifts God has given you. If you are a left tackle, be happy about it. Always know that the the only time an offensive lineman is noticed is when the QB gets sacked or you are called for a penalty, but without the work that they do, the offense would not score and the team would not win.

As I have begun this journey, I have found myself being very philosophical. I have used this time to put my life into three 25 year buckets: The first 25 years was focused on my education and preparation for my future life The second 25 years was focused on raising my family, preparing my kids for their future lives, and developing the experiences and skills to use during the last 25 years of my life. The last 25 years I want to use my time to focus on taking the skills and experiences that God has given me and look for ways to use them to give back. Does that mean you only give back the last 25 years? No, giving to God should be a part of all aspects of your life, but as your family is raised, what is your focus – to build your retirement nest egg or to use the gifts that we have been given to make a difference in the world. For some that may be by being able to give more, for others that might be using your skills for organizations that have eternal value rather than making corporate profits. This is where my journey is at. What is it that God wants me to do with the gifts He has given me? How can I give back?