“Rely not on your wealth…. Say not: ‘Who can prevail against me?’” The first reading from Sirach is one of my favorites. Kind of sounds the opposite of the way people today think, doesn’t it?
I grew up being told that making a lot of money means you are successful. That was very much ingrained in my head. So, I started my adult life by trying to do just that. I fought my way through 19 people who were trying to get the same job, and I got it. It was for a large corporation with 35 branches around the country and I would be in one of them. It was without a doubt the most stressful job I have ever had! I was hired to be a purchasing agent.
Come Monday morning, I was told that I was to do that before 8:00am and after 5:00pm. Sitting before me was a four foot catalog that I knew nothing about. It was pieces and parts that had to do with hydraulics and pneumatics. I would be selling on the phone during the day to our customers. GULP! Learning and selling thousands of new parts and then ordering them and selling them on the phone in the early days was very stressful! I was bound not to fail.
I worked a lot of extra hours on salary to survive. This was a job totally run by negative motivation. I do not recommend that! However, after a year I was promoted to inside branch manager. It was still stressful because I was promoted too soon. Time moved on and I was still determined that I would make it. I worked very hard.
One day I came home earlier than usual. For some reason I came in the back door. I opened the door into the kitchen where my wife was doing dishes and our two little boys were standing near her. They both looked at me and had no idea who I was! They were about 3 and 1 years old at the time. They went and stood behind their mother as if they didn’t recognize me. I’m a lover of children and it broke my heart. I had been leaving the house before they got up and returning after they were in bed. At that moment I decided that climbing the corporate ladder was not as important as my family. So, I let go of my desire for success and backed off working so many hours.
Looking back 50 years, I believe it’s what the Lord really wanted me to do. He was calling me to not rely on wealth but on Him. I didn’t make as much money as I could have but we had enough to raise eight children with a stay at home mom. Now, with 31 grandchildren I am majorly blessed!
Serving with joy!
Daily Reading
Second Sunday of Lent
Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall…
Saint of the Day
Second Sunday of Lent
Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall…