Blog 3: Opportunities
NOT Taken
Back around 2002
my supervisor and library director decided he wanted to retire. My husband told me to go for the
position. I was one of two librarians
with their MLIS (Masters in Library and Information Science) degree. The other two female staff members had worked in libraries
for years and were working on getting their MLIS, one class a semester and were
a little over half-way through the program.
But I decided that I wouldn’t go for it, out of respect for the one woman
I knew would go for the position and I felt deserved it. She had worked at our library for around 10
years or so, was the assistant director, was working on her MLIS, and I felt
she deserved to have the position. My
husband said I could do what I wanted, but said he thought I would later regret
the decision not to. I told him that I
would go for the assistant director position instead when she became
director.
Well, the woman
got the director position and I went for the AD position, but so did the other
librarian and other staff member. I
spoke to the new director and she told me that she definitely wanted me to be the
new AD. I waited, the VP of the college
was taking his time making the decision, of course I knew the new director had
some say in it as well. I asked the new
director when the decision would be made, but she had no clue. So, I emailed the VP of the college a few
times asking him. He NEVER responded. I was a little ticked to say the least. My emails were ignored and this was a
Christian College, so I thought I would at least be given the common courtesy of
an answer, but the answer never came from the VP, the way it should have and
eventually I would have to come to the realization, that the no answer meant “No”.
Does God want us
to give up a job opportunity to someone who you feel may be MORE deserving?
Well, I think
that we should always “put our hat in the ring” so to speak, especially since
God gave us gifts/talents and if we look at our talents and the parable that
Jesus told about them, we know we shouldn’t “bury” our talents. Burying them, doesn’t lead to the growth of God’s
Kingdom, or for us, because we’re not putting the talents He gave us to potential use
when we don’t even go for the opportunity given.
You're
not being insensitive to the other people going for the position. I
felt that way, that they deserved it more than I did and I didn't want
to take that away from them. But if it's His Will, then it will
happen. If the job opportunity that I had was
still meant to go to the woman who got it, she would have gotten it anyway, even
if I was in the running.
I think many of
us, if not all of us have done this before and then afterwards we play the
“What if?” game and nearly drive ourselves crazy wondering for the rest of our
lives, “What if I had gone for that job? Where would I be now
professionally? What kinds of
opportunities would it have opened up for me? Years later looking back on it, I wish I had
applied for the job. Where would I be
today? Still living in Florida? Maybe or
maybe a director of a library up North where I live now. At least if I had tried and not gotten it, I
would have known, rather than wondered all of these years “What if?” and also
wondering about the resulting possibilities. Who
knows? That’s why I’m saying you have to take those opportunities when they are presented.
DON’T bury your talents!
You CAN’T
win if you DON’T play—right?
You will NEVER
know if you DON’T try!
In the parable,
Jesus tells about a master that gives talents (money), to three of his
servants. To one he gives five talents,
to another he gives three, and a third, he gives one. The first two invest their talents and they
increase, the third buries the talent and of course nothing happens.
God has given us
all “talents” or gifts to expand His Kingdom, but if we don’t take what we’re
given and use it, then we are not showing our trust or appreciation for the
gifts He has given to us.
You have
confidence in you children, your husband, your friends, don’t you want to see
them succeed? Don’t you know how special
and wonderful they are? It’s a shame
when we see loved ones NOT doing what they were meant to do,
because of fear, or laziness, or whatever other excuse we can come up with, so DON’T
put that type of pressure on yourself and DO it!!!!
We’re ALL
good at something. For me, I’m great at
talking, a lot--more than my kids would like most of the time, but I don’t think
any business would really pay me for that.
I’m also good at helping others,
particularly customer service in libraries and I do well with
writing/editing/proofreading. Because of
this, I’ve decided start my own editing service, where I hope to help students
and others with their papers, resumes, cover letters, etc. I’m hoping to make this into a full-time job
that someday I’ll be able to do with flexibility and no worry. Needless to say, I’m doing a lot of praying,
but I figure “why not me?” I am a lot
more personable than some online editing service, and I know my customers,
because I’ve worked with students for over 21 years in libraries and understand
a lot of their struggles.
Where do your
strengths lie?
What are you
good at doing?
What do you want
to do?
What has God
given you to expand His Kingdom, that you are burying?
If you’re not
sure where your strengths are, my suggestion is to pray about it and do a little
research on yourself. Taking a
personality test or reading a book on personalities, may be helpful to you in
your pursuit. Also, talking with your friends and family can also give you an outside perspective that maybe you never thought of before.
If you’d like to
take the Myers-Briggs test, it may give you some insight to what your strengths
are.
There’s also a great book called, "Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type" by Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron, Kelly Tieger
Take the chances
given to you, so God will look at what you DID with the gifts He gave to you and say
“… Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV)
May the Lord Bless you all and have a great week!
Many blessings,
Kathy
