I was the director of human resources at the local chapter of a national nonprofit when I was in a terrible car accident. I went back to work shortly after that but had to quit when it became obvious to me that going to the doctors and getting well needed to be my full time job.
Like most people who go through that kind of trauma, I did a great deal of soul searching during the early period of my recovery and I often wondered why I had been allowed to live. I knew that God must have some mission for me but I couldn't figure out what it was.
I was working at my church's flea market when I witnessed something that helped me get clear about what I God wanted me to do.
I was selling baked goods at a table inside when two men -- we'll call them Tom and Dick -- stopped to talk to each other just a few feet away from me.
A third man -- let's call him Harry -- came past and said hello to me as well as to Tom and Dick. They said hello back to him, but once he got around the corner they proceeded to say really bad things about him.
On my way home I thought a lot about what happened. Those men consider themselves good Christians and pillars of the church, and yet their behavior was so completely un-Christian.
This got me thinking about all the ways we violate our faith in our everyday lives, especially in the office. I mean...we're at work more than we're home! That's where our faith gets tested every single day...where we're most stressed out and most prone to react without thinking.
Jesus' message was about living your faith and living consistently with what you say you believe. He regularly chastised the Pharisees, the Sadduccees, and others who judged people and were committed to blindly following the rules rather than following the spirit of the faith.
So that's when I started to realize that what I needed to do was make a direct connection among all the different facets of my life and the faith I felt (and feel) so strongly about. I also started working on my book Faith From 9 to 5: How to Overcome the Seven Deadly Sins and Live Your Faith at Work. Not long after that I started this blog. I hope you'll sign up to receive a notice when a new post goes up or a change is made. You can also sign up for my twice-monthly newsletter, The Mustard Seed. It shares information, tips, and resources to help you live your faith at work. There's no judging and no extremism. Promise.
So what do I do now? I knew there was no way I could go back to working for someone else so I'm a freelance copywriter and consultant. I specialize in educational marketing pieces like white papers, newsletters, advertorials, sales kits, and things like that. I work for small- to mid-sized service businesses, especially those who sell to human resources departments. You can check out my online portfolio here...And please check out my main faith-centered website: www.livemyfaithatwork.com for more help and more information to help you connect your faith, beliefs, and values with your work life.
