These next two posts make me a little sad. I’ve been working on a book based on Divine affirmation for a few years now, because understanding (in Christ) that I’m good enough for God, so I’m good enough to give myself freely to others, and that God is good enough for me, without anything or anyone else, truly has been life-defining. I can’t tell you how often these two truths reshape my thinking. And the book is at least 75% completed. My next book, now finished [When Christian Parents Hurt: How to Face Grief, Find Comfort, and Trust God with Your Adult Child] was originally 83,000 words when I sent it to the Substack reviewers. I got it down to 75,000 words, which I sent to my publisher, and after working with him we got it down to 66,000 words. The unpublished manuscript on divine affirmation sitting in my computer is about 55,000 words–which is a favorable total length for most publishers. But it’s now clear this book won’t see a printing press for years, if ever. As my agents and I discuss the next two books, we’re looking elsewhere.
But I’m thankful to have shared early drafts of this book with so many of you here on Substack.
This week’s and next week’s entries make up one of the last chapters, which is why I’m a little sad. All that will be left to share is an epilogue, which I may post later. After that, it’s going to lie dormant in my computer where it may or may not be pulled out again. Because they’ve had such an impact on me, I’m thankful to get the words out there, even if they never make it into a published book. But who knows?
“Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power.’”
Psalm 66:2-3
The God is good enough for me life changes the focus of our service and life efforts in dramatic ways. We are finally free from the agonizing ache of selfish ambition and empowered to live a life of sacrificial service in building God’s kingdom rather than our own.
Oh, how the church world would be different if we applied just six words from the apostle Paul: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition…” (Philippians 2:3).
Nothing.
Rylie works at a large nonprofit that has a rigid line of authority. If you’re “in” with the CEO, you move up fast and far. If you’re not, you can be forgotten.
Rylie has been forgotten.
She came to the nonprofit following a successful career in tech. The nonprofit snatched her up, paid her a good bit less than she was making, but told her that her work would have eternal consequences now (we could mention the low view of vocation implied here, but we don’t have the time or space to do that). At the start, excited to have a respectful businessperson involved, Rylie was at all executive-level meetings. She thought her contributions were helpful, and other coworkers agreed, but she didn’t play the politicking game between sessions, and she spoke up when things were mentioned that concerned her.
During one such meeting, she challenged a key leader’s premise and got a “look.” Since it wasn’t from the CEO, she didn’t give it another thought, but that leader was obsequiously attached to the CEO, so she wasn’t all that surprised (but a little hurt) when, months later, another executive-level planning meeting was held without her. The nonprofit has a somewhat fluid “executive team.” It’s whomever the CEO decides it is at any given moment, so she couldn’t really complain, but it hurt more to be initially included and then, when she thought she could be even more helpful, excluded.
Rylie has doubled down on doing her work. She missed out on what sounded like a fun “destination” meeting but used the time to impact some lives in a powerful way. The mission of the nonprofit is a good one and Rylie was able to directly impact a couple of families she otherwise might have missed. Looking back, she told me she would much rather have spent that week doing what she did than “hobnobbing at the nice hotel making plans that probably won’t come to pass.”
What has kept her from being bitter about the exclusion? Given her background and employment history, why not take off in a huff and say, “Fine, if you won’t respect me, I don’t need to stay?”
More than she cares what the CEO or VPs think about her and her importance to the nonprofit, she wants to focus on making the most impact in God’s eyes. “Ultimately, God is my employer, so I’m concerned first about being accountable to him.” Being on the executive team isn’t as important to Rylie as being in the will of God.
Continue reading this blog on Substack HERE.
Leave a Reply