Teapot's Resignation

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God. . . .that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you. (2 Corinthians 1:12-14, ESV)

 I'm starting a new chapter in life. Due to circumstances I will not completely fathom until I reach Heaven, I no longer have a regular job. I spent the last two months or so at that job feeling like a square peg being pounded into a round hole, and I guess my employer saw the same thing. I left in good standing in character, but the consensus was that I did not "fit." Because of this, I was not fired, but rather allowed to resign. It truly could have been much worse.

Those of you who know me, or have read my blog probably already know my initial response. I cried. I also did not really experience all of the five stages of grief, but I did grieve. My pride suffered injury and is still recovering. The loss of income bears heavily upon me since we had a goal of becoming debt free in the next few years. And I became overwhelmed at the prospect of having to look for another job and source of income.

On the up side, some of my friends immediately contacted me, and wanted to catch up on some of the changes we had gone through in the last few years or so. I've had some great conversations, and brought away from all of this a renewed appreciation for Godly friends. I'll have another post soon about the value of that shortly.

But today, I want to consider the verses I placed at the start of this entry. I mentioned that I left my job with a good standing in character. Even those who felt I did not fit felt that I was a loving and caring person. I don't say that to boast of myself, but of the gift God gave me and of His continuing work of sanctification in my life. I had opportunity to share the Gospel with some of my coworkers, and I prayed each day for help to glorify God in my actions and speech. I did make mistakes even though I prayed I would not, so it seems that God used this adverse circumstance to move me from this job into another new phase of life. 

And so I write this entry not guided by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God. I "boast" of my actions not because I am proud, but because when I stand before Him, I want others able to say of me that I served God simply and sincerely. And I want to be able to say the same of many of you. Use the grace God gives you. Do not deny the talents or gifts that God provided you. Embrace them and use them to glorify the Lord and share the Gospel. It isn't "boasting" in the selfish sense if you realize that all of your skills and talents are from Him, and you are merely the vessel He uses.

All in all, I'm doing much better. I guess I've hit the "acceptance" stage of the grieving process. I'm sure I'll regress from time to time because there are still scars from this and other hurts, but God willing I'll continue striving to live simply and sincerely for Him.

Unemployed by man, supported and loved by God,
Teapotjan