Giving Thanks

Nine months into the year I was asked to consider at the beginning of this blog, much has happened on the journey.   As always my travels have taken me many places, and more loom , much closer than the horizon.  Today I was working remotely , although until about 3 weeks ago it would have been working from home.   Since I last wrote, I left the job that I had taken in order to get employed again, and to remain in the Milwaukee area.  I took a job far more in line with my skills and interests, with a company seeming to have a better defined need of my skills and abilities.   I kept a promise to myself – a promise to take care of myself and my career, a promise to build a path forward, a promise to learn the lessons of being discarded after 26 years of loyal service, having done my job and accomplished the mission that myself and many on the team believed was not possible. In doing so I also kept a promise to God to be open to the opportunities that have been so graciously laid in my path.

I found myself also back in the seat of the church I have attended the last year - has it only been a little over a year?  All the priests are so good at delivering their messages, with the flamboyance of the pastor, the intellectual theological analysis of the high school principal, and our retired Franciscan who covers for them.  It was the latter doing Mass this weekend in his sandals.  With all that has happened in this country, he reminded us on the feast of Christ the King that God accomplishes his means through imperfect people who answer his call to leadership, whether it be David as king of Israel, or whether it be an imperfect John F. Kennedy in the few years of Camelot set the prelude to the 1960’s in America.  For him, knowing JFK’s sins and imperfections only magnified the power of God, knowing that even those of who are not morally and ethically perfect can still greatly accomplish the purposes of the divine in our moments of understanding and following the Lord’s will.  I hope it gives my readers the same comfort it gave me.

As I contemplated my own imperfections before him, and before the Cross, he stood exactly in front of me, sitting alone in the third row (I always take the short seats in front when I am alone), not 6 feet away.  Our eyes met, and I knew I would have to listen to, and probably share what he said next.  “All you who are leaders, pray to Jesus to help you lead.  He will make you the kind of leader you need to be”.  This was also a message of hope to my mind as I try to come quickly up to speed.  I’ve never been one to wear the WWJD wristband, and if I ask the question, it’s far more likely to be “What would Jimmy do?” when I am on the stage.  But praying for guidance and spirit to infuse me, that is right up my alley.  It’s good to know I am not alone – my Value Stream Engineer has a background on her screen that says “Jesus, take the wheel!”  I love that song.

Father was not yet done.    Good speakers always save their best point for last.  Thanksgiving is of course coming fast – and yes, at Thanksgiving, so many times I have stood, speaking as the head of my branch of the family, and recounted the blessings we had received.   As he spoke, I knew instantly where he was going.   We had to be thankful to God for not only the blessings obviously received – the new children, newfound wealth, recovered health, or the return of those lost to us.  We needed to be thankful for the challenges God had placed in our path.

Now that was the big one.   And I know I need to be.  Perhaps it’s easier now that I know I will be ok, as will nearly all of those who were laid off with me.   Even then, I knew God was in charge, and using those around me much as he had used Judas, to accomplish the greater good.  In time, I pray that I will find forgiveness for those who were called to betray me.  Too strong of language?  Perhaps.   I’m still processing this even on the far side, because it does sting that deeply.

Thank you God for the misfortune that lay in my path.  Thank you for the chance, for the grace you granted me all along the path to the future.   By all that happened my eyes and heart were opened to new possibilities and opportunities.  It’s easy to be thankful for those that gave me a chance along the way, those who taught me lessons I needed to hear, those who had compassion for me in my hour of need.   Without this fork in the road I never would have known them.

Thank you for awakening in me again the call to servant leadership – to lead as you have led in many different faith traditions, but especially in the example of the one who is born into the world in this season.    I am reminded that I am hired and called to lead my team as its servant, to hold my company (and myself) to account for the growth and success of the people trusted to my leadership.  I pray that somehow those who believe it is OK to sacrifice others in the service of their own success look in the mirror to see the fallacy of that way of thinking, and like Scrooge, repent of their former ways and go forward with the spirit of light inside them, to lift others up with them rather than climbing higher on their backs.