Being Renovated
A testimonial from an L3 student

This has been an amazing year for me!  God has essentially been taking me apart, showing me areas in my life that needed change, and rebuilding me. I have been a master at leading two separate lives, my life at church and my life at work.  They were not related at all.  I was a very different person at work.  I wasn't very nice to people.  I carried a very big chip on my shoulder and did not handle authority well.  Everything about my behavior and attitude was wrong, except that I was a capable employee - which has allowed me to keep my job for 17 years now!

Every year I go into my personnel review and they say, "We love your work - we can't say anything negative about it - but you have got to do something about your attitude.  You have to look at how you talk to people and how you respond to us as owners.  You must do something."  I would leave...and not do anything.  I knew they were right - I couldn't argue it...I couldn't defend myself - I just didn't want to change.  I felt my anger was justified and I held on to that.

This past year, I became involved in a leadership development process called Learning to Live and Lead like Jesus (L3) sponsored by Transformation Ministries and offered in our church. I thought I was going to hear where God wanted me and how He was going to use me.  God had other plans.  We have dealt a lot with our character -- how we see ourselves and how God sees us, and how that can't be different.  I was struck by how much I rely solely on my abilities. I'm good - I am capable - I do my job well. But the fact was my life needed to be consistent. I realized my calling was not to a specific ministry but that it was to worship God with everything that I am and in everything that I do.  That meant that I had to change how I was at work.

I started working on that...started going to work and consciously thinking "how would I respond to people at church?"  "How can I begin to genuinely like people more?"  "How can I treat people better?"  I started really thinking about how God would want me to respond in different circumstances.

This was not an overnight change, (and is still a huge challenge for me) but after a while it began to get easier.  I enjoyed my job more; I realized I was beginning to like my coworkers.  And then?.it was time for my annual personnel review.  Again, they were very complimentary about my work. Then they said, "This past year we have seen something in you that we haven't seen before - you have changed...people are enjoying working with you!  We can see a difference. You've had to do something - this kind of change doesn't just happen." 

That provided an amazing opportunity to share what God has been showing me through L3.  They have acknowledged, encouraged and affirmed me. They even offered to pay for the remainder of the program.  When I stressed that this class was not a business class they said, "What you have done has caused a change in you - you are a pleasure to work with - we want to support that."  All I could say in response was, "God has changed my life. He has shown me that my life is made to worship Him in everything that I do -- here at work, in my family, at church." 

It's been an amazing opportunity! They keep tabs on how I'm doing - they hold me very accountable and that is good for me.  It has given me an opportunity to share my faith. I'll admit, it hasn't been easy, but it is exciting to see how much God is doing and wants to continue doing in every area of my life.