“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
When we talked last, my boss had given me an assignment and he was looking for my answer in three days. I prayed and asked God for His wisdom. I didn’t want to be greedy in my answer, I didn’t want to be unrealistic – I truly wanted His will. As I prayed, God kept bringing two assignments to my mind but I didn’t know what He meant by those and how they could add value to the company. So I sought His will some more until I thought He had answered me. With His answers, I wrote up a proposal, showed it to my husband, prayed over it, and then turned it into my boss Friday morning. I would have talked to him one-on-one, but since I was gone all day, I didn’t want him to think I was ignoring him or not interested. I was very interested…and the best thing? I was PEACEFUL. Whatever decision he made, I knew that it would be the answer God wanted.
I was home briefly in between appointments and while I had to leave in five minutes, my boss called and I answered. He asked me a question pertaining to the business and then said, “I accept your proposal, need to tweak things a little bit from a CEO perspective, but yes, I like it.” I was elated. I didn’t know what the tweaking was, but I did know this – the peace that God had given me before was still present and I knew that it would be God’s BEST.
Two days later, I received another email from my boss with his “tweaks.” They blew me away! Only God…He paid me more money than I had asked for, he agreed with the schedule I could give, and he liked what I could offer to the company that lined up with my gifts and talents. The icing on the cake? He offered one more thing that was an answer to an unspoken prayer request which was created in February out of obedience…the same month I was promoted out of medical transcription. God used the last gift my boss offered me to bless someone else, showing me without a doubt that God’s fingerprints were all over this new adventure.
I walked around for almost two weeks with a permanent smile attached to my face. While I am still in a position to grow and be challenged and learn new things, I have a schedule that fits with my lifestyle and with my family. I still work hard, maybe even a little harder, but it’s work that I wake up every morning thankful to do and feeling as though I am an asset instead of a detriment. I want to go above and beyond, yet I also know that both of my bosses support me in quality family time. Both of my bosses love God as much as I do and we all feel called to the positions we are in. I love being a part of two companies that put God first and want to serve clients – that it’s about relationships and not the almighty dollar…and God is blessing them for that.
I believe that God will restore my lost income soon…maybe even by the time you are reading this post. I also believe that God allowed our family to walk through the journey we did because I needed to learn a few things. My paycheck comes from God. I work for God – not for a specific company. Whatever I do, even if I’m in a season that is HARD – I will work at it to the best of my ability with the right attitude because I’m working for Him, not people. And ultimately, my job is to be a reflection of Him with everyone I come in contact with. Sometimes it’s done more subtly, sometimes I can speak more freely – but it’s always to be evident because I may be the only glimpse of “Jesus” some people get, and I don’t want to misrepresent – ever.
God blew me away. I always said that when, not if, God gave us His BEST for us, I would shout it from the mountaintop. He has chosen to reveal His best for us. I never thought I would say this…but I’m almost glad God allowed our family to embrace the adventure in 2015…to think what we would have missed if He had given us the free pass I so politely asked for around the New Year.
© Cheri Swalwell 2015