When you think of giving up something or making room for your life, how often do you think of giving up your job? Most of us hang on to “what we do” with a vengeance. It defines us, it sustains us, and likely supports ourselves and our families.
After almost 25 years in a single profession, I decided that I was finished. That decision did not come easy – plenty of people gave me reason to question my decision. I even questioned it myself. How do you stop doing something that you’re familiar with, successful at, synonymous with – maybe even pretty good at? And when you’re too young to retire and too old to start over – what happens next? All these questions kept me up at night and were constant points of conversation with family and friends. Most people are pretty encouraging – “Go for it” they say, “You only live once, pursue your dreams” they offer. Pretty easy recommendations over coffee or dinner. Giving that up was a decision I did not take lightly.
But this is what I knew – I wanted more time with my family, more time to pursue a life of giving back, more time to focus on the little things in every day. So, looking at what you get when you give up something became the great motivator. The demands of a retail career, long days, working most holidays, weekends, and many evenings – I knew I wanted to give that up. Having lots of vacation, but annually losing a week or two because it was hard finding time to vacation – I wanted to move away from that too. Being confident every day, understanding and achieving what was expected, earning the confidence of staff and peers, lifelong friendships – these things were harder to say “so long” to.
Every day my prayer was – Dear Lord, open my eyes to the possibility of something else. Help me to see where you want me to be. And I thought of this verse in 1 John 5:14-15 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him. That very verse brought such comfort and assurance for me – “We know that we have what we asked of Him” – that gave me such bold faith to realize that God already had a plan waiting for me.
So, when I received a call offering the possibility of a new career of helping others, the answer was YES. I knew giving up what was seemingly important, what had truly defined me, was really gaining what was important and what would always define me – more time for family, faith, and serving others.
Lori Hall, Executive Director of Missions
