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One year

Yesterday marked my first anniversary at my job. I cannot believe how fast the year has passed. It feels like maybe six months, not a year, ago that I nervously drove to the office for the first time, getting to the neighborhood so early that I stopped for coffee and STILL had to sit in my car for 15 minutes waiting for someone to arrive and unlock the door.

Reflecting on the last year, I'm first of all grateful. This paragraph could go on and on about the things I'm thankful for related to my job - being where God has called me, the ability to do tasks I love, the incredible people I'm in relationship with here, and the experiences I've been able to have.

However, instead of using thousands of words to talk about gratefulness, I'll briefly share a few of the lessons I have learned in this year, specifically through my job.

1. Work is about problem solving. (I elaborated about this in an earlier post.)

2. Patience is crucial, and my #1 priority may not be someone else's. When I have a "major task" on my plate that I need a supervisor's input on, of course I need to ask, but also recognize that they probably have much bigger fish to fry. I'm sure that my tasks are important to them, but I need to be patient when waiting for answers, as they probably have a list of high-priority items on their plates.

3. Choose to trust. I was given an amazing teaching on CD that talked about how to handle "knowledge gaps" in the workplace. When information is being witheld from me, I can choose to get suspicious and assume it's bad or about me, OR I can choose to trust that my leaders are making good decisions and that I will be given whatever information I need in the right time.

4. Everyone communicates differently. This is not rocket science, but it's definitely something I need to remind myself of often. Instead of assuming the worst and being quick to get offended at the words of others, I need to consider the speaker's communication style before responding.

These are just a few of the lessons God has showed me in this year of my career. I pray that He will reveal even more to me in the future!

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