Musings of a Working Professional

Life as a working professional is invigorating and draining at the same time. 5 days a week of corporate life is tough and yet there are good days of productivity and satisfaction. Of course, I am very grateful to God for my job and all the benefits it offers to me. But on the flip side, there are long working days, tight deadlines, and tiring commutes to work.

And before you know, you are sucked into the daily humdrum of life. Sometimes I am too busy to notice anything as I am keen to reach work on time. Or by the time I reach home after work, I would simply prefer to retire to bed.

But it’s in this busyness of life that I find the joy of slowing down and gaining a better perspective of the world around me. There are a couple of things I do to keep myself focused as a single working Christian.

Being Connected
No matter what folks feel about this, I have experienced the blessing of beginning every day with God. I know for me to do that means hitting the sack early so that I am refreshed and eager to meet God through His word and prayer. There are days when I am tired and my mind is heavy with other things. But the moment I begin reading His word, it helps to get my mind off myself (for once) and focus on the majesty and immensity of my God. It really helps to prepare for the day and pray for the things ahead of me.

Being Available
As a single working woman, I have the blessing of being available in church and to my family and friends. That means helping my family or friends in times of need. I remember many years of babysitting my friends’ kids over the weekends. Of course, I had the option of enjoying time with my single friends. But it was such a neat opportunity to serve and not be selfish with my time.

Being Fit
My work forces me to sit in front of the computer for hours. And what better way to break that sedentary life than to exercise! Exercise for me is either walking in the morning, or hitting the gym in the evening. And I add cycling and swimming to my list of activities.

Being Adventurous 
I have just started travelling to places and I cannot begin to tell you the benefits of it. I mean, if you are working so hard, it does help to unwind by visiting new places and experiencing life in a totally different manner. It has helped me to keep in touch with friends and I am able to appreciate the simple blessings of life.

Being Generous
I think it’s easy to fall into the temptation of being miserly with your time and money. I have struggled a bit when it came to being generous with my time with people. I am not very good with interruptions and lack flexibility in my schedules. But I have personally experienced the joy of meeting friends and spending time with them when I would have preferred to read a book at home. Same holds true for money. Experience the thrill of spending on others, whether it is paying for lunches or coffee or buying gifts. Trust me, life as a hoarder is no good!

These are some of the things I do to keep the balance of my work life. What are some of yours? I’d love to hear them.   

Sufficiency of God's grace in trials

One Sunday morning, while waiting for the worship service to begin, I noticed a visitor walk into the church with the help of a crutch. For a minute, I couldn’t place that visitor in my memory, but then I recalled he was the same person who had met with a severe accident a couple of months ago. His brother was a regular at our church and he had sought our prayers when this accident occurred.

Watching him walk across the room with the crutch, released a flood of memories in my mind. I immediately recalled the phase when I walked about with the help of an elbow crutch. Of course, mine was a minor accident compared to his, just torn ligaments in my ankle and badly bruised bones. It took me a couple of months to get back on my feet. Literally!

Those days constantly reminded me of my frailty and how much grace I needed to go through it alone. The day I got confirmed in my new job was the day I met with the accident. Looking at the severity of my injury, I knew instantly, I had lost my job. I was job hunting those days so I knew what I had lost. And six months earlier, I had undergone two dental surgeries within a span of two months. That had put a considerable toll on my health.

Now, with the ankle injury, I was battling a lot of emotions. I was confused wondering what went wrong. Here I was practically immobile and without a job. Placing my foot on the ground sent a shooting pain up my leg. So, I had to hobble my way around the house. Being fiercely independent, I struggled to accept help from my family. Walking, an activity that I didn’t think much about now required my complete attention as I had to be very careful in the way I placed my foot. This was so humbling and really tested my faith.

But praise God for His word. Truly, it is a light unto your path. James clearly says that we will meet trials of various kinds and this is to test and build up my faith. (James 1:2-4) He calls us to have an attitude of joy! Christ has promised that His grace is always sufficient in any trial we go through. (2 Corinthians 12:9a)

Paul experienced that promise when he suffered under a great trial of having the thorn in his flesh. He prayed thrice to God to have it removed, but Christ only said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor.12:9) I always marvel at Paul’s response to this promise of Christ, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor.12:9c). This is true grace manifested in our weak bodies!

I have known Christians who have survived a car wreck and undergone several operations. I have seen their godly response to such deep suffering. I have seen Christ’s grace manifested not just in their attitude towards suffering but in the humble acceptance of what God in His immense wisdom has allowed to pass. I saw this same attitude in the person I mentioned in the beginning of this post.

Coming back to my injury, I did recover completely and landed a beautiful job a couple of months later. I could have wished this injury to have never occurred or to lose my new job but that loss pushed me to rely on Christ’s strength as I dug deep into His word and prayed to Him for grace to go through this trial. “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” Job 23:10

I am humbled and at the same time marvel at God’s ways. This in my sight is truly a miracle!

Of Change and Transitions

It’s been so long since I have posted something on my blog that I am scrambling for a topic to write. The last couple of months were full of changes and moving from one transition to another. I got a new job which meant new workplace, new colleagues, new commuting route, and new challenges. By the time, I got adjusted to this particular change; there was another set of changes that needed my immediate attention.

All I wanted at this point of juncture was something that was familiar, something that didn’t need too much of my attention. I am a creature of habit and I love things functioning in an orderly fashion.  Any sudden change or unwanted interruptions puts me on edge.

I had two options: first complain my heart out or face this change with courage. Thank God, for I chose the latter. As a Christian, I am called to do all things without complaining or grumbling. I need to remember that God in His Sovereignty has allowed these changes to surface for my good. I was afraid to face these changes thinking I would fail miserably trying to adapt for these very things. The words in the book of Joshua encouraged my heart.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

So here I am standing face to face with the new things in my life and I am not as stifled as I was before.