Fridays...then and now

Many years ago in a galaxy far far away when I had a staff of 150 I was continually amazed by the way in which Friday was worshipped by most of our people. Thank God It's Friday (TGIF) could be heard all around. For myself and most of my direct reports running a 24x7 technology operation that provided service in nearly every time zone in the world, Fridays typically meant little more than the day before Saturday. There seemed always to be another stack of stuff to review, work on, proposals to read or write, issues to settle, priorities to arrange, and the list went on and on. Looking back I have concluded that a fair amount of this work, which typically denied us any sense of normalcy in life, was self-inflicted. How could this be true given the overflowing in-boxes? It’s quite simple when you look at what did happen in those rare occasions whenever one of us scheduled a few days off for a trip or vacation or family outing. Somehow and in someway we could clear our desks in preparation for being gone. Why we didn't do more of this on a regular basis and not miss so many of our children's important activities is something we cannot now change but certainly we can warn others not to do as we did.

Even in a small company environment like I am today, the TGIF slogan still reigns supreme. In the job I now have I’m blessed to work in a wonderfully positive environment. I arrive at my desk typically by 5:30 a.m. and usually leave each day between 6 and 6:30 p.m. We are located in a somewhat isolated spot off a country road. The 30 minute drive each morning would be idyllic if not for the large number of wildlife that still call this area home. You have to be up on your steering wheel and careful as you make your way along the winding roads that lead to our facility. Wow! It's always something. It's not unusual to see whitetail deer nearly every day. While that sounds wonderful, many days it becomes tragic as they cross at the wrong time and are not only killed but often do much damage to the unsuspecting vehicle that hits them. So there you have it. Great spot, wonderful surroundings, but not without its own set of issues. This reflects life itself. So often people find the adage to be exactly true: "The grass turns out to be greener over there because it’s growing on top of a septic tank!"

It's like the fellow who retires, buys an RV, and is ready to travel and enjoy his remaining days. Yet, while cleaning his new RV he falls off the top and does major damage to his back. This is not a pessimistic view but rather an appreciation for the conundrums of life that makes it what it is. What do we do in response to how things work in life? We trust God, thank Him for the breath in our body, and we get up and seek to serve Him and others each and every day. We do understand that difficulties, trials, and challenges are an ever present part of our days, but we do not lose heart because Jesus told us not to because He has overcome the world and we can be victorious in Him! More later.........