ksagarsee

I am frequently surprised when someone is a jerk. Some would call me naive, but I usually assume that people are nice and either want my help, or want to help me. Normally I am correct in my assumption. I have a loving wonderful wife, I have a great family, terrific friends, and excellent coworkers; so there really aren’t jerks in the circles I spend time in. When I come across someone that treats me like like crap, I get confused and upset. Here are some things I need to refer back to frequently to put things in perspective:

• Not everyone is like me. While I try to see the best in others, they might not do the same. Don’t expect people to respond the way I do.
• I don’t know their life. I don’t know what they’re going through that may have caused them to react the way they did. There’s a good chance they’re mad at something totally different, and I just happened to be available to dump on.
• They need Jesus. Almost as much as I do. Remember that I’m here to show them love, even if they don’t show it to me. Jesus did.
• I stand in the way. People are angry and hurt and are used to running in to other angry and hurt people. I’m different. When others run into me, I want them to see something different than they are used to. I have the chance to affect, on some days, more than 50 people who call expecting to be treated poorly when they need computer help; and when they get me, I want to break their expectations.
• No matter what happens, I get to go home to a loving wife, and a beautiful baby who love me and are excited to see me when I walk through the door.

This is just an initial list. There’s a lot more I need to remember with this stuff,but it gets me started and helps me take perspective. Maybe it will help you too.

Tonight my mom called to tell us that they heard on the radio that Faith Mission in Elkhart was in need of blankets and pillows because they are so full due to the cold weather.
Dad decided they needed to do something about it, so they went around to a bunch of different stores to see if anyone would give them blankets and pillows to take to Faith Mission.
When she first called, they were at Meijer in Mishawaka, and dad had just come out and said they wouldn’t give him any, so he bought a few himself.

We hung up and went on eating our pizza. About half an hour later she called to tell us how cool my dad is.

They went to WalMart and dad talked to the manager. He told him about the need at Faith Mission, and asked if he would give them some blankets and pillows to take to the mission. The manager said “Sure, we can help” They gave my dad 25 blankets (real nice ones, like $20 blankets) and 12 pillows (those run like 15 or 20 bucks a piece)!
So dad and mom drove to Elkhart in the middle of our insane winter weather to go help people who are poor and cold.
Lots of times growing up my parents went out of their way to help others. It was just what you were supposed to do, it was never a big deal. I’m proud of my dad, he always set a good example for us when we were younger, and now that we’re older, he continues to do the right thing. Not because we’re watching anymore, but because he cares about people.

That’s the kind of dad I want to be.

Today I learned a new lesson about life from my daughter. We were driving home from grocery shopping, she was in the backseat in her car seat and Jeanette and I were in the front seat, when she started crying. Well, it started as crying… and then it became howling and screaming. She wanted out of her car seat and she wanted out NOW. We were driving down the road though, and of course, we can’t take her out of her car seat while we’re driving. Not only is it illegal, but it’s not safe. She can’t see that though. All she sees is her immediate discomfort. Its al about her. Jeanette and I knew best of course. We were looking out for her best interest, but all she knew was that she wasn’t comfortable.

Now, of course because we love her we pulled over when we could and Jeanette fed her; but it struck me how much like her we all are. We don’t see the bigger picture, all we see is our immediate discomfort. "Oh no, things aren’t exactly the way I planned them to be!" Whether that means our relationships, our job, our money or whatever… it’s so easy to only focus on our pain. It’s tough to believe that God knows better than we do, and that if we trust him… it’ll be so much better. We never see the trouble we avoided by trusting him, only the pain we feel when it’s hard.

It’s not easy when you aren’t the adult.

Powered by Qumana

Most people would have started about a week ago with a post saying something to the effect of, "hey tune in next week because I’ll have some pretty big news!", but everyone knows what that means when you do that, so there’s really no point in it is there?

So here it is. As of May 2nd I will no longer be working at GCC.

There’s no grand scandal or anything, I’m just not a great fit for the job. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the people I work with, and the people I support. You can’t find better. No seriously… You can’t. But, I do my best work as part of a team. Here at GCC, I’m the Lone Help Desk guy, "Captain 111" as I’ve been called (111 is my extension). Some super heroes work well alone, but others flourish as part of a team. That’s me. So as of May 5th I’ll be returning to Notre Dame’s OIT Help Desk in my previous capacity. I’ll be a part of a team of 7 amazing people who keep Northern Indiana’s largest employer/University running smooth.

Some have asked if I’ll still go to church here… umm duh. This is my home. I live and breathe what we do at GCC. I can’t leave here, where else would I go? I’ve never seen anything like this. I LOVE doing life and church with these people. I’ll be on stage acting, I’ll be in the nursery holding babies, and I’ll be here every weekend just like I am now. The only thing that changes is where I’ll make my money. This church will always be my passion.

I had a good run here. I think I helped move ministry forward. I helped GCC transition to a new model of Help Desk support that someone else will have an easier time fitting into, I trained and transitioned them to Vista and Office 2007 which is no easy task. I’ve had my hands in the back end of lots of small decisions that have affected hundreds and thousands indirectly and directly.

I’m sad to leave here. Very actually… But I know I’ll love being back at Notre Dame. God has taken care of me in greater ways than I can ever know. The way God made this happen is undeniable. His timing is better than mine, and his provision is greater than I could have hoped for. That’s all I’ll say, but know… God loves you more than you can know; and I especially know that He loves me.