Today, I stopped into the office real quick to talk with my boss, Larry.  I was able to catch him in between meetings and as I left the office, I asked him about his next meeting.  He indicated that it was about “change” and wondered if I had any good stories to share.  Looking at him a bit puzzled, he clarified that I always opened my meetings with a story.

Larry was right.  It was a “Dave approach” to lead in with some sort of tale, either an old standby such as my favorite one about Benjamin Franklin and a chair in Independence Hall (I picked that one up from a Park Ranger) or some random event from the day (much like my daily blog posts).  Thinking for a moment, I was stumped.  Nothing came to mind.  I was out of stories.

Later in the day however, a story graced my mind.  It was a tale from a while back, when things appeared very grim.  You see I was working in a pretty toxic environment.  There was plenty of backstabbing and political gamesmanship.  A new election had been held and it was painfully apparent that I would be voted out of office in January.  I would be unemployed and we were expecting our first baby.  Life was worrisome.  Life was uncertain.  The looming change looked bad.

Our beautiful baby boy Jacob arrived late at night and by the next day, we were exhausted.  As Charlene and our new baby bonded, I drove home to feed and walk our dog.  Strolling around the neighborhood and trying desperately to apologize to our pup for our absence, my cell phone rang.  Back in 2003, the cell phone I was carrying was big and certainly hard to miss.  On the other end was a lifeline, a job offer.  At the time I viewed the job as a lateral move at best and was not overly thrilled, but it was a job.  I needed job security.  The Lord gave me what I needed.

Turns out, the job was a blessing tenfold.  The work environment was positive (sure, there were problems, but nothing like what I had previously faced) and my new Council was thrilled to have me.  Two years later, I was convinced that life could not get much better.  We now had the blessing of our two-year-old boy and all of the wonder that comes with being new parents.  I also had a job.  A good job, one where I was valued and free to make positive change.

Yes, sometimes “change” appears dreadful.  Sometimes it looks as if it will rip your life apart.  At those moments, the moments where nothing good is coming over the horizon, remember, life can surprise you.  Sometimes surprise you for the good.  Yes, “change” can be frightening, but it can also have a happy ending.  Keep your chin up and imagine the possibilities.  The Lord will bless you, just hold on and see. 

Late November 2003.  Eleven years later, Jacob is still my daily reminder that the Lord is looking out for me.  Sometimes “change” is scary, but sometimes wait and you will find blessings.  Blessings of a magnitude beyond your imagination.