The Big Picture from Beginning to End

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. (Oscar Wilde)

Now that we are coming to the end of the 2020 pandemic, many of us can relate to the quote above. So, we should be careful what we wish for, right? We may have hated our previous job and suddenly, it was gone!

Let's face it. No beating around the bush. Once we become single again, most likely we will need to either find an alternative income source or a regular job. Even if we have all the money we need (which may not last for long), sitting around with nothing to do is terribly boring, unproductive, and detrimental to our social life as we all experienced in 2020!

There are actually many benefits to taking a job or starting a whole brand-new career. Try a little exercise and list as many advantages as possible. If we have already been working for a while, maybe we are thinking of changing our job. That is not a bad thing by any means. We have to take pride in our work and if it's time to move on, we'll know it by the dissatisfaction we feel.

5 Perks Why Working Is Good for Us

• Our health and happiness will improve.
• Taking the risk will energize us.
• Gives us reason to become who we really are.
• Creates friendships with those in the same situation.
• Provides ways to find new interests.      

The Wrong Thing at the Right Time

All of this may seem scary at first, but even if we have never worked before outside the home, there are ways to get started with that too. One of the first things to do is to find our strengths. If accounting is not our thing, taking a job as a bookkeeper would be a disaster. If we hate baking, working as a pastry chef would drive us crazy. If sales give us hives, selling cars would be a joke. Get the picture? 

WHAT AM I GOOD AT? [Click Here to find out]

Next, we do not need to be told, education is important. If a degree is already on our shelf, then great--we need to get out the door and hit the pavement! If not, then, obviously, the key is to get educated in a field that is exciting for us. It may mean night school while we work elsewhere to pay the bills, but then what else do we have to do with our time? If we work hard at it, it will happen before we know it. 

Who is Directing Us?

Some of us are planners from way back. Organizing is at the top of our list. Others are definitely not in that camp! We need help for sure. What is really good to know is that we do not need to do this alone. There are support groups, counselors, and friends to call on when we are down in the dumps. 

There is also One who cares about us more than anyone ever could. God knows what we need (not want) the most and what is best for us. He sees the Big Picture from beginning to end. The best we can do is look at our life with blinders on. God is willing to direct our steps until we reach His ideal for our perfect life. Our part is just to ask!

“Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 NLT).

 

 

Who Can You Count On?

It’s devastating to lose a friend anytime. It hurts the heart and it takes awhile to adjust our thinking. Here we are talking about the season of friendships that once were beneficial to both parties, and then they reach a point where they simply drift off in different directions. It may be that common ideas and interests brought us together and they served a purpose for a time. And that is all good.

Unlike high school or college where we made lifelong friends with certain unbreakable connections through shared experiences, as adults we meet and get to know others mainly through our activities or employment. We work alongside them and share our thoughts, understandings, and viewpoints about a variety of subjects. It’s helpful for each person to share perspectives in this way.

There Is a Time

Some of these type friendships can develop into something more for us. As each one gets to know the other more intimately outside work or organizations, we form a way to grow together and see each other as valuable for who we are. There’s no competition. It’s a grown up, give-and-take relationship built on honesty and trust. These friendships tend to last.

At other times, we come to know that not all acquaintances were meant for a “permanent bond” type of arrangement and that’s okay. The glue just doesn’t hold and serves no purpose after a period of time in which we helped each other accomplish a goal or sort through a dilemma, as in a co-worker or teammate.

As it says in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” We can not expect for every link with another adult to turn into something more. Something that will bolster our agenda and bring us glory without giving back the same.

What is of much more importance is finding those few friends who we can encourage and uplift. Finding out how we can be the best possible friend to another woman. We can set aside our own needs, at least for a moment, and be interested enough to find out how their life is going.

What Do We Really Know?

We may know the “basics” of what our friend is all about, but we could challenge ourselves with these nine often ignored questions to see how much we really do know about our friend:

• How long has she been married or single-again?
• How many kids does she have and their names and ages?
• Does she have a church home?
• Where did she graduate from? What did she study?
• What does she do for a living? Or what is her passion?
• What is her favorite color, book, recipe?
• What is her greatest personal challenge?
• What are her long-term goals?
• What is her favorite restaurant?

Think. . .

None of these questions are for the purpose of gossip! These are areas that will help you to help her. Think about it. Our friend doesn’t need a handout, but she could use a hand up now and then.  

If one falls down, the other can help him up. But it is bad for the person who is alone and falls, because no one is there to help. Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NCV)