Focus on The Lord

            This post is going to encourage some of you. I can state right now that it won’t resonate with many of you, and that’s ok. I had a situation happen at my job that rubbed me the wrong way, and one of my coworkers was putting me on game about some others in our office. While she was doing that someone from another department came by and said something that sat in my spirit. She said, “There’s power in prayer”, which was funny because of why she said it but a few moments after I quoted her because what I had just witnessed. Prayer is how I got to this job in the first place, and also how I know what she said was true. Prayer and faith have brought me very far in my short lifetime, even when it wasn’t my own prayers or faith that God honored. At my old job I dealt with a lot of issues, most dealing with my race and age. The most significant of them I will share with you all here.

An older white woman that had been working for the agency for decades kept up a lot of drama and hell in my former office. She made the office a very hostile and unstable working environment, and once it began to affect me it had to stop. At first I tried to play her game on her turf, so I would send emails to our supervisor and document when I witnessed her break rules, but none of that had any effect on anything she did. Nothing was done by my immediate management team, and as an OPS employee I already knew that emailing out bureau chief wouldn’t help me at all. As I was telling my Grandma about it one day, she suggested I pray for the lady. Naturally I rolled my eyes and scoffed at the thought, but then I remembered the Bible does tell us to pray for our enemies. So I decided to try God on His word, and I began praying not only for the lady but for what I desired in the office. During my lunch break one day, as I was praying God talked back and told me that her job will be mine in due time. I didn’t know what He was going to do or how He was going to do it, but I knew what He told me. If I never trusted God before I trusted Him when He told me that.

Now, I’d be lying if I told you the lady miraculously shaped up and we all lived happily ever after until she retired willingly. She in fact got worse with her behaviors. She complained so much that our bureau chief ordered new desks for our office and had the office rearranged so that she was no longer near me and another coworker of ours that she claimed was a problem. Not long after the office reset, we experienced hurricane Irma, which had us out of the office for about four or five days. When we all came back, we noticed she was not there. At first we wondered if she was able to drive, or had she left town and got stuck, or even if she was dead. When our supervisor got to work that morning. she informed us that the lady was in the hospital due to an infection. Before the hurricane she had fallen and cut her leg on a nail that left a flesh-eating infection in the wound. At maximum we were expecting her to be out a few weeks, but God had other plans. Not only was the infection a problem, it became more complicated because she is diabetic and had suffered strokes before. She ended up being out on sick leave from September until the middle of January. During that time two positions were vacated and I had my eye on one of them. I interviewed for the one I wanted and did not get it. I was upset, but God told me that He had my position for me already, I needed to be patient.

So, I waited and still came in to work resting on what God had told me MONTHS AGO. When the lady came back, I would greet her as she passed my desk in the morning, but that was it. While she was out we had to adapt to a new system, which meant she was going to have questions. At first our supervisor showed her how to use the new system, but after a few days our supervisor was no longer able to stand with her to assist with the system usage. At first I was unwilling to assist and I silently hoped she wouldn’t call my name, but I would look up at the Bible verses I had on display on my desk and one screamed at me so loudly one day I almost cried. “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good”. Fighting her was not going to end well for me, being mean to her wouldn’t be good for me, I had to do right by her EVEN IF SHE DIDN’T TREAT ME RIGHT. I had to learn that what others do to me is not what I will have to answer for, I am responsible for how I respond to them. God was humbling me and teaching me how to interact with others by means of real-world experiences, which led me to another verse “humble yourself under the hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time”. So I would happily assist her when she asked, and I proactively engaged with her to alleviate any confusion for her. She worked half days due to her many doctor appointments and as soon as she got back to working full days it happened. HR needed clearance from her primary care physician for her to return to normal schedule permanently. She had gotten clearance from other physicians who were treating her, but not the primary care physician. That particular doctor would not allow her to return to work, which forced her into retirement because the agency would not accommodate a part-time schedule for our office. When I found out she had to retire I screaming and shouted for joy inside, because my troubles were over. As soon as her position was posted I applied for it. I interviewed and landed the job easily and on my first official day I heard the voice of The Lord repeat the promise He had made months prior to those events occurring.

            Shortly after the promotion I realized that I really wanted to move on to another working environment. Although one thorn had been removed, there were still others that remained that I rather not have to constantly deal with. For instance there was another white woman who constantly reported me to our bureau chief for things she assumed I was doing, or because she felt like I was not working. Even our bureau chief had funny acting ways that I discovered and did not like. From April until November I went to work and applied for jobs all over the state and the country, hoping one would call and I’d be over and out. Again I went to The Lord and prayed for a better job that would help me get to financial freedom, but also help develop me professionally and personally. Now I see where the personal development will be coming in, as well as the professional development. I’m grateful for the step up in life, God has definitely blessed me to be where I am. However, I am starting to see how the enemy is working within this new environment. Office gossip, attitudes, assumptions, poor communication, unstable protocol and procedures, constant changes and petty behaviors from women who are older than me I something I don’t tolerate. It’s one thing to have to deal with immature customers, but to deal with micro-aggressions and immaturity from managers is unacceptable for me.

            So I told my coworker who was putting me on game, I know how to pray and I pray every day. I may be a lot of things but I’m not the one to mess with or treat any kind of way, because before it’s all said and done I will have the last laugh. God has never failed me and I know He won’t fail me. I’ve found that He won’t lead me anywhere that His power, favor, grace and protection can’t sustain or keep me. I told her that I give people the opportunity to show me who they are, and after they mess up I will go to God on them. Before she left my desk she almost went to shouting because I was serious about everything I said and I was speaking from experience. And for you all reading this, I want to encourage you if you are going through a test on your job, seek the spiritual view of the matter. If you are facing a Goliath or there’s a storm in the form of a person or people on your job, remember these two things; 1. When Peter walked on water to meet Jesus in the midst of the storm he didn’t sink until he focused on the waves and the wind, and 2. When David faced Goliath he only had a slingshot, five smooth stones and his experiences when God delivered him from a lion and a bear. My point is, focus on God and Christ, because when you focus too much on the enemy’s distractions, you miss the lesson in the test and God’s reason for orchestrating the situation. Always keep in mind that we wrestle not against flesh and bloods but spiritual wickedness in high places, but the weapons of out warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God.

Peace. Love. Blessings.