Wanted: Stress Ball; Needed Immediately

This week has been a challenging week. I won’t bore you with all of the details. Those don’t matter and most of you won’t care about the details anyway.

I know that some of you accidently came to this page—maybe you hit “Next Blog” at the top of your own blog site and you landed here! Today is your lucky day! Others of you visit my blog more regularly and you’ve come to expect a news story or relevant illustration from today’s world or maybe even a photograph of my son. None of that today. Still others of you are searching for the title: “Go to church or the devil will get you!” or “The World’s Largest Hamburger.” Yes, I’ve blogged about both of those subjects, just not today.

Let’s just say that today, you get the privilege of reading about a challenge that I am going through. I’ll do my best to keep the conversation (from this side) short and to the point.

My major challenge this week came on Monday when a co-worker of mine resigned from my team. Her departure will mean more work for several of us on our team. We will have to pick up her duties, field the questions that normally go her way, and plan for a transition that could run from six weeks to a year. Who knows at this point how long it will take to fill her position. That’s the nature of publishing. Jobs are hard to come by and qualified people to fill open jobs are even harder to find.

I don’t like challenges like this! I really don’t.

I’m not being selfish and thinking only of the extra work I will be called upon to do. I’m not afraid of extra work. I’ll do my fair share of it. Usually without complaining. Is this complaining?

What I really do hate is getting to know people and then watching as they leave. In a work environment like mine, you get to know people pretty well. We are a small company, so personalities are known, habits and hobbies, likes and dislikes, goals and dreams, hurts and pleasures—all known. All of those things are generally fair game in our work place. We know just about everyone’s comings and goings. That can be good. It can be bad. Right now, I’m seeing the bad. Someone I have invested much time and energy in is leaving.

Now, I’m happy for her. She will be moving to another area of our company, doing something that she very much enjoys and hopes to grow in. That’s good. I’m happy for that. But still. It leaves a hole in our work area. That’s bad.

You ever have days like that? If you allowed your selfish nature to come out, you would simply scream out in pain, frustration, or anxiety about what is happening around you. You feel out of control, unbalanced. You may not even know what step to take next. The road ahead is simply too dark to judge.

A life verse from Scripture that I’ve always followed is found in the Gospel of John. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

At this point, I don’t know all of the truth God is putting before me—I’m still searching for His truth in many ways. I’m searching for answers and ways to overcome doubt and fear. I wish I knew more. I wish I had the answers.

But, today, those answers and His truth seem to be eluding me. I’m seeking. Eventually, I’ll find it. Hopefully today.

If not today, then tomorrow.

If not then, as He desires.

Until then, got a stress ball I can borrow? Maybe two?