I know what it looks like, but no, I'm not in charge of the Jelly Belly factory... this is a hat they gave me on tour there while on furlough.
It's not relevant to this conversation other than it's a funny picture.
My whole life I've known what I'm good at. I mean besides being super dashing in photographs. (-; But lately I've been discovering a few more things about myself and what I'm good at and how they can be used to help Bible translation.
Last month I was helping out as Director for Regional Centres, they asked me back again for next month.
Last month I was asked to fill out a financial report to give contributors an explanation of how their money helped install VSATs across the country. I did it, very nervous that I would mess it up, as a result they loved the report and have asked me to send more photos for a JAARS publication.
Both of those things I was totally convinced I'd be horrible at.
But the part I'm having a hard time believing is that I have a unique talent that is needed here. Conducting job interviews. I don't know how he picked up on it, but the Director asked me to put together a training so I can teach other managers how to conduct good job interviews so that they get good hires.
I really do not understand why he thinks I'd be a good choice to do that training... I kept protesting.
He kept saying 'you've done more interviews than many managers here.' How would he know that? I asked him, he said 'how many have you done?' I'd done well over 30, and he said 'that's very unique experience here. can you help us out by teaching us how to do interviews.' I was surprised to hear his story of how they do job placement in Australia and how they don't often conduct interviews for his work.
So I went to sleep last night thinking about this. I still don't believe it's true. I can't be one of the more seasoned interviewers. Can I? I'd hate to conduct training if I wasn't an expert, and I don't think I am. He thinks I am.
And then I started to think about it.
I've looked back on my life and seen many ways that God prepared me to be here and help, many skills that have been honed over time. But I'm really surprised that there is more.
Not long after college I was working at a large company, and was asked to be on the interview team. From that time forward, I've always been part of if not the lead, interviewer in many technical interviews. From company to company, I was the one creating a list of questions, asking them, putting the applicant at ease, and wheedling out information from them. Such that I had several techniques that I would employ to do so. When I got here, I had to do the same things, so I asked around, and learned and....
Maybe God was equipping me yet again.
I can not express how incredible this is. 7 years ago I was shown how God had been crafting my life to do this exact thing in this exact place at this exact time. How I was uniquely suited to do this, and how God had been honing me for decades to do it.
That was 7 years ago.
I wasn't expecting that He'd continue to show me things. I was expecting that was it. I'm set, I know my purpose, I'm designed for it.
But the intimacy I feel with Christ because yesterday He told me 'your life isn't over yet, I'm still crafting you, and there are preparations in place for a time that hasn't come yet.' Is mind blowing.
The other day, we started talking about implementing a new telephony system. Cisco VOIP voice gateways.
What was one of the last things I touched when I worked for Cisco?
VOIP gateways.
mind blowing stuff. It just keeps unfolding. It's continual confirmation that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.
