good work
As I mentioned in the first edition of this blog and have alluded to since, I work in a homeless shelter.
My official job title is Case Manager for the Women's Division but I do a bit of everything.
My job is to work one on one with clients to assist them in getting to a place of self sufficiency. However, I constantly find myself back in my old office acting as a Supervisor, I take care of the data and stats for the Shelter and do billing reports and request with one of our major funding agencies. I currently am helping implement a client tracking software that will bring out record keeping into the 21st century.
In case you aren't getting what I am telling you, I have a lot of responsibility and am a very busy person.
Today I was, once again, back in the supervisors desk helping to cover for a friend who had to go home sick and a client, we'll call her Sandy asked if I would walk to another department and let her lay down. In my mind I thought "Sure, I'll get some extra steps in for the day." So I rose from my chair and scurried ahead of her to unlock the door.
Now let me pause and tell you a little about Sandy. Sandy is older. She is younger than she looks, because life has not been kind to her, but in the older stage of her life. She has long, scraggly, dark blond hair and an abundance of wrinkles. Her teeth as mostly gone and her little body is hunched over from the years she has lived. She wears a giant blue coat and sometimes pushed a walker. She is the kind of client who always needs a little something. Maybe she needs to use the phone or to know if she has mail or she needs get some Tylenol etc. There is a little bench outside of the shelter staff offices and, more often then not, you will find Sandy there waiting for something. More than anything what she wants is just a little time. She usually has something to tell you and is not quick in telling it.
So today, as I strode ahead of Miss Sandy, I intentionally walked at a pace that she couldn't keep up with because, frankly, I was busy. I didn't have time for a long explanation of why she needed to lay down or to hear about what she had for lunch or all the things she had done that morning. I needed to unlock the door and get back to my very important business.
As we passed through one small hallway, one of the maintenance men was painting over some places on the wall that had been chipped or damaged in some way. I breezed on by him without a second thought and as I got to the end of the hall I heard that familiar little voice behind me say,
I proceeded on but with a little less gusto. It immediately struck me that she had noticed something I hadn't taken the time to notice. I was so busy "serving people", I didn't take time to actually serve people.
I constantly have to remind myself what is really important. One of the hardest things to do is find that balance between doing my job well and loving people well.
Sometimes I have to take the time to remember that that very needy client, the child who hugs my legs as I walk by or even the maintenance man in the hallway, may be the exact divine appointment the Lord has put in my path that day. It could encourage them, change their life or it could change mine.
My boss, who I think is very wise, often says,
She is right. Everyday in someway my job shapes me and makes a stronger and wiser person. I want to do good work. I want to help people. I want to touch lives.
I want to be the type of person who, just like my little Sandy, can slow down from my work and notice those around me. In taking a moment to say something as small as "good work" you never know the depth of the good work that you are actually doing to speak into the life of someone God placed in your path.
My official job title is Case Manager for the Women's Division but I do a bit of everything.
My job is to work one on one with clients to assist them in getting to a place of self sufficiency. However, I constantly find myself back in my old office acting as a Supervisor, I take care of the data and stats for the Shelter and do billing reports and request with one of our major funding agencies. I currently am helping implement a client tracking software that will bring out record keeping into the 21st century.
In case you aren't getting what I am telling you, I have a lot of responsibility and am a very busy person.
Today I was, once again, back in the supervisors desk helping to cover for a friend who had to go home sick and a client, we'll call her Sandy asked if I would walk to another department and let her lay down. In my mind I thought "Sure, I'll get some extra steps in for the day." So I rose from my chair and scurried ahead of her to unlock the door.
Now let me pause and tell you a little about Sandy. Sandy is older. She is younger than she looks, because life has not been kind to her, but in the older stage of her life. She has long, scraggly, dark blond hair and an abundance of wrinkles. Her teeth as mostly gone and her little body is hunched over from the years she has lived. She wears a giant blue coat and sometimes pushed a walker. She is the kind of client who always needs a little something. Maybe she needs to use the phone or to know if she has mail or she needs get some Tylenol etc. There is a little bench outside of the shelter staff offices and, more often then not, you will find Sandy there waiting for something. More than anything what she wants is just a little time. She usually has something to tell you and is not quick in telling it.
So today, as I strode ahead of Miss Sandy, I intentionally walked at a pace that she couldn't keep up with because, frankly, I was busy. I didn't have time for a long explanation of why she needed to lay down or to hear about what she had for lunch or all the things she had done that morning. I needed to unlock the door and get back to my very important business.
As we passed through one small hallway, one of the maintenance men was painting over some places on the wall that had been chipped or damaged in some way. I breezed on by him without a second thought and as I got to the end of the hall I heard that familiar little voice behind me say,
"Good work! That's looking really good and you are doing a great job."
I proceeded on but with a little less gusto. It immediately struck me that she had noticed something I hadn't taken the time to notice. I was so busy "serving people", I didn't take time to actually serve people.
Its easy to do.
I constantly have to remind myself what is really important. One of the hardest things to do is find that balance between doing my job well and loving people well.
Sometimes I have to take the time to remember that that very needy client, the child who hugs my legs as I walk by or even the maintenance man in the hallway, may be the exact divine appointment the Lord has put in my path that day. It could encourage them, change their life or it could change mine.
My boss, who I think is very wise, often says,
"We come here because we think we can serve and teach the clients, but really they are the ones who are sent here to teach us."
She is right. Everyday in someway my job shapes me and makes a stronger and wiser person. I want to do good work. I want to help people. I want to touch lives.
I want to be the type of person who, just like my little Sandy, can slow down from my work and notice those around me. In taking a moment to say something as small as "good work" you never know the depth of the good work that you are actually doing to speak into the life of someone God placed in your path.
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