I was recently reminded of a lesson I learned two years ago in the summer of
2010, and I thought I would edit and post something I wrote at that time.
Honestly, I’m not so certain I have fully learned this lesson…
During projects, the unforeseen occasionally happens, and I inevitably do
not please a customer despite great effort. For the past 6 months I have been
involved in what would seem to be a straightforward project, but it has been
wrought with problem after problem. The project should have been completed 5
months ago. I've seen this type of project before, one that should be
relatively simple and easy to finish, but ends up derailed by problems with
various causes. Without attributing evil to God, somehow I think these problems
are God’s tools for the shaping of my character, but I'll save that thought for
another day.
To make a very long story as short as it should be, factors outside of my
control made it impossible to renumber 374 lecture hall seats before students
flood the room next Monday. I was very professionally grilled about not
fulfilling the project requirements and told my temporary solution was not
acceptable. I was very anxious about this and spent all of the night trying to
fabricate a solution. But the grim reality is that no matter what I wish, say,
or do; no matter what the customer wishes, says, or does, the renumbering of
the seats is not going to happen by the customer's very legitimate project
completion date.
Through prayer, I believe I was led to Proverbs 19:12, "The king's
wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the
grass." I deeply wanted my customer to be able to say, "Great job." Of course that would have
been said 5 months ago if at all, certainly not this late in the game. One application I
believe God was trying to remind me of through that verse finally dawned on me. The
praise of men doesn’t last very long at all. Like dew, it is gone by 9:30 AM,
even sooner on the dry summer days. Why should I even crave it? That customer
won't even think about this project next week. (He'll think about it the next
time he is going to get chairs... good or bad) But isn't his roar and
displeasure about the same? Yes. The roar is not pleasant, it scares me, and I don't
like it. But it is gone soon after it is uttered.
Neither the roar of the lion nor the dew on the grass last very long. And
neither should have any bearing on my outlook. In other words, I should not be
anxious about this; I believe I have done my best. I need to realize my
failures, faults, and mistakes, while at the same time try to accommodate
others, correct problems, and please my customers. I cannot do a whole lot
about the rest. After that lesson, I was able to peacefully approach my
customer with God’s assurance that the roar of my customer wouldn't last too
long, or be too awful, and He still loves me.
But the lingering question still haunts the people-pleaser in me, “What if
the lion tears me to pieces...?” Well, I hope in the resurrection. Being torn
to pieces might not be so bad after all.
So tell us what happened! That's not the point, nor should it matter to you.
Isaiah 2:22 "Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his
nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?"
