Great advice from a good man

An Army chaplain I met in Ramadi (ok, I should elaborate... I went to the Bible studies he led, often talked to him while we were all hanging out around Combat Stress or the chapel, and joked around with him on many occasions... he was definitely a go-to kind of guy)... back to my story... My phone rang the other night and it was none other than the aforementioned chaplain (he was in town for 2 days and unfortunately my schedule did not allow me to see him). After chatting for a while, he wished me well and told me he knew I would be successful in my upcoming career change. I admitted to him that I was not as confident as he seemed to be in my physical ability to achieve my goals. He assured me that I would be successful. Sensing the doubt I couldn't hide, he asked me a question: "what is your purpose in life?" Being the good little catechized girl that I am, I gave the first half of the answer I had memorized long ago: "to glorify God." "So," he replied, "whether you become a Marine, a soldier, or anything else, as long as you continue to glorify God in whatever it is you do, you will be successful." It wasn't anything I didn't already know, but it was exactly what I needed to hear! I have been so focused on me and achieving my goals and dreams that I had lost sight of what is truly important. Thanks to Chaplain R, I have been refocusing as I think through all the possible coming changes. Has it answered the questions I have about my near future? No. Nor has it eliminated my fear of failure or my trepidation, walking into unknown. But I have a peace that I have not felt in a while because I know that even if I fail in certain things in the here and now, ultimately, I will still fulfill my greater purpose. And THAT is a reason to be encouraged!

A Parable on Management

A co-worker emailed this to me... I thought it was pretty funny (and sad because it is unfortunately too true to life).

A man was in a hot-air balloon. Soon he found himself lost with nothing but
green fields for as far as the eye could see. Eventually, he happened to
float over a man who was walking his dog. He leaned over the basket and
yelled out, "Hello! Where am I?"
The man on the ground replied, "You're about 20 feet above the ground in a hot- air balloon."
The balloonist cursed him and shouted back, "You must be a statistician."
"Why do you say that?" asked the man on the ground.
"Well," shouted the balloonist, "You're absolutely correct but your answer was completely useless."
"Oh I see," replied the walker, "And you must be a manager."
"Actually, you're right," said the balloonist. "How did you know?"
"Well," said the walker, "First you were lost. Then, after working out what information you needed to sort yourself out, you asked someone else to get it for you. Now that you have the information, you're still lost, but it's someone else's fault."