For Such a Time as This
It’s Monday morning. I submitted a resignation letter to my employer today. The answer to the next logical question is “no”. I do not have another position lined up with another company. No, I am not moving and no, I am not of retirement age yet.
I have worked at Maurice Electrical Supply Co. as the Regional Credit Manager for over 10 years and have been in the industry since 1993. Literally no one goes to college to be a credit manager. We all fall into the position and stay for the excitement and challenge along with the continual learning it offers.
The wholesalers in the electrical industry that I worked for were very profitable. Management positions were generally well paid with annual bonuses. I have worked hard and have built a solid successful career. I resigned today.
For such a time as this.
Although many see this as a quick unexpected decision, I solidly believe that God’s been planning this, not for weeks or months, but for years.
Several year ago I had an opportunity to support in various ways the Love Wins Movement or LWM. This a community outreach that would eventually be a separate non-profit organization continuing to work in conjunction with my church – The Church at Severn Run.
From day one, I was immediately in love with the LWM. The mission and message emulating the love of Jesus really struck a cord with my heart and mind. The founders were all fantastically hard working people with top notch expectations. With this, however, there was always an overwhelmingly amount of work to be done. Even so the outcomes were impressive.
I would over the years whisper to myself and occasionally say out loud to my husband that, “I wished I could quit my job and volunteer full-time.” I never imagined that this could ever be a possibility. Although I am married and had a good paying job, I was committed to supporting myself independently.
About a year ago, a tragedy hit our family. My older brother Kent, who was still in his 60s, had become increasingly ill. With multiple illnesses and having doctored most his life in small towns, when he finally got to a highly rated facility, it was too late. It very quickly became clear there was nothing else that could be done to extend his life. He’d live his final days in a hospital.
My brother had lived a full and fruitful life. He did well but never had children and neither marriage lasted. Later in life he had finally found a wonderful lady who became truly the love of his life. Sadly she was taken from him too soon by cancer. He never recovered from the heart break. He took to drinking and became a closet alcoholic. Finally confronted during in his last few months in the hospital, he never fully overcame or admitted he was powerless over this demon.
Kent was a believer in Jesus and I know he’s resting peacefully in the arms of his Savior. We miss him still. I miss him still. He was taken too soon. He had no heirs to which he could leave what he’d work so hard to obtain. His possessions were therefore left to me and my two siblings.
Several month later, Vicki DeLair, the executive director of LWM, the non-profit I so love, approached me and my husband looking for us to become more fully engaged. At that time we were intrigued but we had a wedding to plan for my son in a very short period of time. We asked for a reprieve until after the wedding.
Shortly after the wedding, as if on queue, we got an inquiry again – would we be willing to have further discussions? A dinner was planned to pick up the conversation. After that meal again, I thought to myself as well as said to my husband, “I wish I could quit my job.”
A few weeks later Vicki stepped up to speak one Sunday morning while our Lead Pastor was on sabbatical. Her message on making a difference in God’s kingdom right now was spot on…it got to me. I wanted to be a real #differencemaker yet still wondering how I could make that happen.
A short time later I became aware of the what being an heir to my brother’s hard earned savings meant:
- It meant more than I have ever imagined.
- It meant I could quit my job.
- It meant I could live my life funded by Kent.
- It meant I could volunteer full-time in his honor.
Kent didn’t get the help he so desperately needed. However maybe he, through me, can make a difference in someone else’s life getting them the help they need whatever that help may be.
A God thing? Indeed, but there is more.
Over my years as a credit manager I often felt I was shorting God in my service to Him. Although I volunteered at church, in my community, generously tithed and strived to life my life for Christ, I was still left wondering what value did being a credit manager have for His kingdom?
It occurred to me recently that the skills God had developed in me over the years as a credit manager could and would now be applied directly to the role I’d be taking on in volunteering with the LWM.
For such a time as this.
God’s brought all these pieces together that literally began in 1993 when an electrical wholesaler hired me onto their team to the love I have developed for LWM to the estate by brother built and left behind. It is breath-taking and awe-inspiring. I am beyond blessed and tremendously grateful. I can’t wait to find out what else God has already planned for me!!
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future. ‘”
Jeremiah 29:11
Is there an area God has been prompting you to move towards? It may not mean handing in your resignation but could be something smaller or even bigger! Pieces may be coming together for you now. Never underestimate the power of our God to make things work together for His and our good.
For such a time as this.
Want to know more about the Love Wins Movement? Click here!
JL