What I Learned from My New Job

Today I left Wal-Mart behind and I started a new job. It's always exciting and a little nerve wracking the first day at your new place. You don't quite feel fully comfortable and there are so many things that you couldn't possibly know that you feel overwhelmed. If you are anything like me you are probably worried about whether or not you dressed up enough or your co-workers will like you or possibly even if you will be able to actually do this job once you get into it. However, once you get in there and things get started you find out that you are doing good. Then it hits...

Information overload! You have met tons of people and "learned" lots of names. You have filled out about a billion tax and benefits forms. You have gotten your new name tag/ID badge. You have taken a tour of the building and you might even have gone through orientation. Just when you think your brain is mush and it can't possibly hold another fact--your boss either sits down with you or pairs you with someone to show you the ropes and they begin to ply you with even more information!

There are studies out there that say humans only retain about 30% of what they learn by hearing it alone. I don't know if those numbers are accurate or not but after starting a new learning experience today I could easily believe it. When my brain stopped hurting, I started thinking...

It's no wonder that God communicates with us in small, bite sized pieces. It should also come as no surprise that He often makes us wait for an answer instead of revealing His whole plan to us at once. If He did we would simply get the worst possible case of information overload in the whole world and on top of that we wouldn't even retain all of the plan! So maybe next time instead of complaining that God isn't giving me information fast enough I should stop and be thankful that He IS giving it to me in doses that I can handle.

I would love to hear your thoughts...

A Lifetime of Firsts

Bright and early this morning, I drove my sister to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for her first ever flight. I could tell she was nervous and excited and probably a little scared (although she would never admit it! so I didn't even ask.). Last night before bed we talked about all the important things to know and do and bring on a flight. It was nice to know that my life experience was benefiting someone else. Still all the knowledge in the world can't curb the "first timer" jitters.  It wasn't until all three of the people she was meeting had arrived and they had all checked in that she really began to relax. It's fun watching someone go through a good experience for the first time...not so fun if it is a bad experience.

Life is full of first timer events. Sometimes they are good--like this morning--and sometimes they are bad. We should embrace our first timer experiences and learn from them. Our knowledge and experience may benefit someone else later on down the road.

Staying Connected

If you're like me, then you are super busy and you find it really hard to budget all of your time wisely. You might also find that since you are constantly busy and you work very hard that you are also very lazy when you do have down time. When I don't have things planned I tend to veg. Sadly, my busy schedule and veg-itude have horrible side effects. The major side effect is that my relationships tend to fall through the cracks.

From a very early age, I neglected relationships in favor or having more time to do what I wanted or just out of pure laziness or because I didn't think that I was good enough or cool enough to hang out with anyone. I never learned how to maintain a lasting, viable friendship. I don't know how to really stay connected with people. I am on facebook so that I can "keep up" with my friends but I don't make an effort to check their status updates as often as I could. I have a phone so that people can get ahold of me at any time but I rarely pick it up and call people. How can I truly be connected?

Problems in maintaining my earthly relationships have also bled over into my relationship with God. Sadly, I have passed over God for a chance to play more Xbox 360. I have neglected to talk to God because I have too many things that I want to do. I don't take time to find out what God has to say. How can I truly be connected?

Let me just tell you that typing this all out has really put a few things into perspective. It has also helped me think through some of the issues here. I think that the solution is the same for the spiritual as it is for the physical.

#1 STOP being Selfish!
My laziness is selfish. Point blank. Boom! There I said it. I am also selfish in my relationships because I try for a little while and then quit when I feel like the other person isn't returning the friendship or giving me enough attention. Me. Me. ME! Selfish. Stop it!

#2 START listening.
Being involved with God and being involved with your friends and really taking time to stop and listen is the key to great two-way conversation. This is a skill that I need to practice more. I need to learn to listen wholeheartedly. When they are talking I shouldn't be thinking about what I am going to say next or my come back for the argument. I need to pay attention to what is being said. I need to start listening.

#3 COMMIT to being active.
Once I have listened, I need to be active in sharing. Sharing can be scary, especially if you have trust issues like I do. But without a response the conversation is one sided and nothing gets done. That doesn't mean I need to have the last word, but it does mean that I need to be open to letting someone else know me as I really am--flaws and all.

Take time today to STOP being selfish, START listening, and COMMIT to be active in the relationship. See if things don't start to improve. I'm going to try it and I hope you will too.