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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Encouragement (02/23/12)
A few years ago, I worked as a temp between regular jobs. I was feeling really depressed. This was the third time being caught in a layoff by several companies and losing good pay and benefits. I was feeling even worse at having to do temp work that was beneath my skill level. Here I was with a college education and years of experience in management and now I was reduced to manual labor at minimum wage. No other work was available with an economy that was hitting bottom. I needed to put food on the table for hungry mouths. The temp agency assigned me to working as a laborer in a warehouse. I was feeling a lot of righteous pity for myself. I felt like God was on vacation.

The company utilizing the temps required each employee to be teamed up with a temp. So here I am working next to this young man who was incredibly uneducated. As we worked and ate lunch together, we started sharing our lives. About two weeks into the project, we were having lunch outside one warm day at a picnic table, enjoying the view of the snow-capped mountains. He had asked me something regarding marriage; I was sharing how Kathe and I dealt with the issues. Out of the blue he blurted out that he had never known anyone who didn’t call their wife either the “old lady” or “the b----“. At first I was speechless. Then it seemed the Holy Spirit nudged me and I suddenly realized that here was an open door to share the reason why.

What I saw as failure in my introspection, God was busy redeeming to use to further His Kingdom. This was one of many experiences where I was learning to see the myriad opportunities that God was putting in front of me every single day. What an encouragement that He trusted me in what I thought was failure.
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This article has been read 772 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Donna Wilcher
03/02/12
Amen! This is a great story, and great lesson. One we should all heed.

Your story "encouraged" me look into my own life and see what doors of opportunity I might be missing to "Increase His Kingdom"

Well done! Keep up the good work.
C D Swanson 
03/02/12
So insightful and so true. Wonderful job of showing, rather than telling, about encouragement. Great job.

And, God is astouding isn't He? His plans are always perfect...a valuable lesson in helping us realize things happen for a reason.

Thank you for this inspiring entry.

God Bless you~
Carol Alwood
03/04/12
Thank you for sharing your experience! Sometimes we are so humiliated at how God chooses to use us, but it is a priviledge to have opportunities we wouldn't have had otherwise.
Nancy Bucca
03/05/12
How true that sometimes when we're at our lowest we have the greatest opportunities to share our faith. Thanks for sharing this!
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/05/12
It is amazing how God can use our hard times and turn them into something wonderful.
Jody Day 
03/05/12
Well done, and inspiring! Good job.