Integrity at its finest

Ok, so I'm one of the few souls who have exhausted all of their vacation early in the year and now find myself in a desolate office just 2 days before Christmas! I joked to a fellow co-worker today that we were playing "survivor" and we were going to see who would be voted off at tonight's tribal council as things were getting rather isolated here.

But today, I noticed something. While not everyone is here there is one person here that is extremely telling. This individual is retiring from our company after 42 years of service. She's been an administrative assistant her entire career and has worked her way into a very prominent role supporting our Vice Presidents. Her last official day is December 31 but because we are on company shut-down between Christmas Day and January 5, tomorrow is her last day in the office. AND she is still here. Working away, tying up loose ends, tidying her workspace...

What makes this remarkable is that her boss is gone. He's been gone for nearly a week now. In Montana of all places, so there's not much chance he's going to pop in for a surprise visit. There's really no one else around either who would need anything from her. So she really is here just cleaning up. AND she stays.

Why? Well, she is a true company person - why else would she have stayed with the same employer for 42 years? (our company is only 53 years old). She just is that kind of person. Someone who wouldn't even think about abusing the privileges we've been given. Someone who wouldn't even think about lying or cheating. Someone put in charge of little and given much!

This person has taught me today as I watched her go about her work the value of integrity. Doing what you ought to when no body is watching....
But isn't that what we're all doing here on Earth? We've been given the chance to do what we ought to when Jesus isn't here in the flesh. But how many of us are doing this? How many of us are just "getting by" hoping that no one sees? How many of us have knocked off early from work to squeeze in last minute Christmas shopping hoping to avoid the crowds???

While we celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas, we also celebrate His life here on Earth. The first time he was here, no one really understood what King of Kings meant. So unabashedly men went about their life with little regard for Him. And here we are in the period of time with no visible representation of Him on this earth. And we're doing basically the same thing. Going about our life without regard for Him. . . But there is coming a day - and Praise God for this - when He will return and everyone will know what King of Kings means... and how we long for that day.

So my friends, as you read this today and as you prepare to celebrate Christmas - think of my friend and c0-worker here in the office - going out her duties diligently and respectfully in the absence of the boss. And please do the same. Live today for Him. Celebrate tomorrow and Thursday not just with gifts and food, but with the joy that comes from knowing the King of Kings is alive and will return again to call you by name. Bow before a manger scene somewhere this season and thank God that that Baby knows your name and willingly came to earth, went to the cross and is coming again, just for YOU!

Because you know... just like the fact that I saw my friend from afar going about her work... He sees you from afar even now as you read this! And he's watching... and waiting to call you by name.

Merry Christmas!

Calming the Whirlwind

OK.. at the risk of sounding really old... and also negating my promise to never sound like my parents... I'm about to make a profound statement.

I can't believe Christmas is next week! It has come out of nowhere it seems.

I know literally it has not. The 25th is the 25th every year... right after the 24th and right before the 26th. Yet, as I get older, it seems that the whirlwind of life gets faster and faster. It started on Thanksgiving when our baby was hospitalized with respiratory problems. That took 3 days out of our season and seemed to put us "off of schedule." As a family, we've been rushing from event to event since, preparing cards, presents, etc... no different than most families at this time of year I suppose.

Yet, I'm seeking forgiveness right now... I have rushed through the season getting from event to event without regard for THE event. We've not purposefully created space in our life to reflect on the miracle of the season. We've not proactively educated our children on the miracle of the Messiah's birth. We've only been showing the kids that Christmas is a busy season.. and not a Birth Season.

That is until an event late last week caused me to stop in my tracks and take note. In the middle of my preparations and chaos I was offered a new opportunity at my workplace to take responsibility for a different team of individuals with a completely separate set of responsibilities from what I've been doing for the last 4 years. The kicker was I had about 24 hours to make the decision. In all honesty, I didn't realize how bored I'd become with my current role. I loved working for my boss - who is a great mentor and friend. I loved the people I worked with... I loved the work I had done... There was (and is) a lot of my current role that I'm not ready to leave behind.

Yet, the propect of something new awakened something in me. I realized how scary something new was. But yet in the scariness, something came alive in me again. I realized I would have to depend on God again to help me manage the ambiguity of the new position and I would have to create space to listen to Him again. Even as I type this, I recognize how arrogant it sounds... but you see the truth of the matter was that I had become dependent on myself in my old role. I had realized I could do it and I was relying on the talent God had given me and not upon God. I was growing but only in the areas I wanted to grow in... and not where God was pushing me.

So I have accepted the new responsibilties which will ultimately go in effect in January and I feel totaly inadequate but yet totally at peace with this decision. You see this is where the two parts of this blog post come together....

We can go through Christmas preparing for the event... and yet miss the EVENT. The whirlwind of life is profound and we all can fall prey to its suction. AND we can go through life and miss LIFE itself. Life was not meant to be lived in comfort... for in comfort we find only ourselves. The Miracle of Christmas is that "unto us a Savior is born." And not only at Christmas do we need to take time to marvel at the manger... but daily we need to realize our dependence on the Babe to help us really experience life.

So for this week, my actions have been to stop preparing to celebrate... and truly celebrate. Because God has opened my eyes up - AGAIN -to my dependence on Him... and that is the most peaceful place I can hope to be... even if there is a whirwind around me.