Caring is just another word for LOVE!

So, here I am, back again, right back where I started from. I was thinking about trying to write a song but those words sound to me like they may have already been taken. Thanks for showing up for today's episode, coming to you on this back-to-work Monday, April 10, 2017. My wife was supposed to come home this past Saturday morning for a short visit. But, she surprised me by showing up Friday evening. That's a great news but not so ready news event. I'm talking about having all my chores done. It was funny. I was talking to mom but I could tell she had the phone upside down. I finally said goodbye and immediately called my wife to tell her to go fix mom's phone. The wife answered and said if I would open the back door she would talk to me about it. She was pretty well spent from helping care for mom, plus, she wanted to make sure the yard was being cared for, the way she wants it cared for. She plans to return to Louisiana on Tuesday to continue helping in mom's care. She knows that I am humbled by her love and support of my mom. I've mentioned before about a trait test I took at a management conference many years ago. I got my hands on some extra copies and brought them home with me. The professor who designed and refined this test over many years said it was hard to defeat because of the different ways he structured the questions. At any rate, my outcome has been pretty consistent over the years. The results were color coded. I am a blended hue, meaning I can interchangeably wear whatever hat I need to in order to get the job done. It's important to remember there are no wrong outcomes because they reflect what makes a person tick. I gave the test to my wife and she was off the chart blue. That indicates altruism and serving as drivers in her life. The professor described his wife's score as being so high in the blue, she would lay down and give you additional traction if you were stuck in the snow. Here's what I know about this subject. There are natural traits and then there are the abilities that God places in our lives. I see how He worked in my wife's life to compliment her natural bent, therefore, she is, at heart, a caregiver. And, I am so thankful that she does what she does, from her heart.

Interestingly enough, there was great distress in that large group who participated in this testing procedure. People in business, in particular, develop a view of themselves that is not always in keeping with the inclinations of their heart and mind. At that huge conference, I saw several who were angry because the test did not show them as being high reds, meaning they were the hard charging, take no prisoners, type of manager. I will give it to you like this. Maybe some of them discovered the job they had did not match their personality and bent. Perhaps that's why they were being treated for ulcers. Each category listed had its own strengths and weaknesses. A high blue is a great servant but that type of person may be easily taken advantage of. A high red may get projects done regardless of the obstacles but they may be very difficult for others to work with. Those who have an administrative inclination do a great job in keeping up with the business, however, they may be very weak in making decisions. The blended hue person like me moves in and out of different shades but may not always be effective in meeting objectives. See what I mean? I guess the bottom line here is to do all we can to find the best application of our talents and abilities in whatever pursuit we choose. Meanwhile, I will try to figure what color of hat I was wearing when I wrote all of this.

I've been around long enough to have seen many in job positions they were not individually well suited for. I can see a vivid image of a fellow I worked with many years ago. I can see him standing up at his desk chug-a-lugging a bottle of liquid anti-acid medication. That was a daily occurrence. He had been an officer in the military, but, making the transition into the civilian world as a network manager with huge pressures and high demands, was too much for him. He didn't last but a couple of years. When he left, his health was pretty well shot. I was the lone voice on our management team who didn't think he should have been hired to begin with. (You know. The I-told-you-so guy.) My reasoning was two-fold. Having worked for the military myself, I was concerned about the adaptability factor, especially since our network staff was made up of highly skilled professionals, not saluting privates. Secondly, he had been very impertinent in dealing with our travel people as they attempted to accommodate his interviews with flights, hotels, etc. To me, that didn't sound like a good match. It wasn't. That's my recollection of how it all went down nearly 30 years ago. The fellow who hired him, my boss at the time, he may have seen it differently. The fellow who was hired most likely thought he wasn't given a fair shot. See what I mean? The same story but from different mindsets. Oh well, other than its discussion value, it really doesn't matter at this point in time. Thanks for bearing with my wordiness today. May God help us all to use what He has given to us to honor Him and serve others. Amen. ....More later.