Thursday, May 11, 2017

#BestJobEver

Retiring from government service has been wonderful.  For 30 years I had a steady (though small) paycheck, good benefits and savings plans all over the place.  In exchange for the long commute, the low pay and the amazingly difficult work I was given the opportunity to put money away for my future.  My government service means I will now begin to receive a pension and have access to health care that is wonderful.  I will also get to put in for Social Security when I am old enough to do so. 

Despite my best efforts to save, however, I still need to work. If I don't have a job, I will be in serious financial trouble even after thirty years of hard work.

With that in mind I applied for and was hired to work for my local Catholic Parish.  My job is to coordinate/administrate the ins and outs of the Parish School of Religion.  The hours are wonderful and I am working four minutes away from where I live; in theory, I could walk to work. 

That remains a theory however so just relax, all you fitness buffs out there.

Is there a down side?  Of course!  No job is perfect, right?  I mean the pay is about 1/2 of what I was making with the government but guess what?  Combine my new salary with my pension and factor in that I no longer have to budge 450.00 a month for gasoline and I am going to be just fine.  I mean seriously fine.  In other words, I can exhale a little. 

And of course I could complain about those who came before me leaving me with a lot of tangled and loose ends but the reality of that is I have asked for help when necessary and I am getting that help.  Despite my tendency to worry and fret, I know everything is going to be okay.  God has my back because I am truly doing His work for His Church.

This brings me to the need to acknowledge what I am receiving from this job that I did not really get for 30 years.

  • Business Meetings begin with the Liturgy of the Hours
  • I work across the parking lot from the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel
  • My boss is a PhD and love Thomas Aquinas
  • My office assistant is a Third Order Dominican just like me
  • The ladies in the office applaud my attempts to learn Spanish and forgive me that I speak it with an Italian Accent
  • I can offer up a prayer to Our Lady of the Copier and no one gets mad at me
  • I can walk to Starbucks
  • My home group for my 12 step program meets on this campus once a week
  • My boss likes peanut butter cookies and shares them
  • I have to walk all over campus and may be able to get rid of my gym membership
Every one of my days ends with me being very tired.  The tired is a good tired, the kind of tired that means I have worked hard and I am learning.  I find myself frustrated, anxious, worried and concerned for all the right reasons and the best part of this job is that everyone here is a dedicated Catholic, a practicing Catholic - which means they are not perfect, but they are going to practice and practice and practice until they get it right.

I know it has been years since I got to do something that I really loved.  Up until now, I relied upon my love for the people I worked with to get me through because sometimes the job itself was so awful it caused me to cry on the two hour drive home.  Today I am a part of something so much bigger than the government and so much better because the mission statement was handed to us by our CEO over 2thousand years ago.  We just keep going....warts and scandals and mistakes do not stop us.  We keep practicing and we hold the doors open for all people who need and want Truth.

Thank you, Jesus and St Dominic.  Thank you for giving me a chance to be of service....today and every day....one day at a time.



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