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Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, you have helped me process the events of last week.
Many (most) of you are right. What happened only raised more questions, it did not provide answers. It might have hastened some answers but now there are just more questions.
I can now see that it's much easier to look back on an event and reason out that it was caused by something when the event would likely have happened regardless of a cause.
Perhaps now some of the shock is wearing off and that is helping too. Sometimes we all need a little BORING time to reset and assess. Definitely looking forward to that for awhile.
Not quite sure where to post this, but I think a prayer was answered. Yesterday I asked God to give me a sign of which path I am supposed to take. I’m not sure if I got the answer but if what happened was the answer, dang it was LOUD AND CLEAR.
Around 1pm yesterday afternoon we heard a “boom” of sorts. My coworker, V, and I thought someone had dropped some files or a box fell over. Then our front desk person, J, started yelling. I don’t even remember what she was saying but when I came out of my office, my boss was laying on the floor in front of his office. He was out cold.
He was breathing, but it was weird – like he was snoring and gurgling. V and I decided to roll him on his side to help his breathing. And then the breathing stopped. We rolled him onto his back and unbuttoned his shirt as other people were coming with an AED unit. Another coworker, T, began chest compressions and I eventually gave three breaths to him. After a couple of seconds, he started breathing again and “woke up”.
Arms and legs flailing as he struggled but you could tell he wasn’t quite coherent yet. I was reminding myself that this is not an unusual reaction. I bear hugged him from behind and V held his legs until he calmed down. About this time the EMTs arrived. We got out of the way. The EMTs asked him his name, where he was, his birthday – he was lucid. Then they took him to the hospital.
While we initially thought that perhaps this was a blood sugar incident, it appears it was not. He is still in the hospital for tests and there seems to be an issue with his heart. He is in his early 60’s and is expected to retire next year.
Now, how does this have anything to do with the path question I put to God?
When I was hired for this job about 18 months ago, I was hired as this man’s successor. I have made at least one near fatal error in my role, but otherwise, I believe I have done my job well. I’m not sure what the management’s decision will be when my boss decides to retire. He could decide to retire now. He could decide to stay on for the coming year.
And what does that mean for me?
Sounds selfish, doesn’t it? But what if the question I posed to God somehow was a factor in all this? What if my boss had collapsed somewhere alone? What if he had passed out while driving?
I’m so glad that he is alive and that whatever caused this episode will likely be able to be addressed through medical care.
Today the office is weird, of course. I think we are all hoping for a very boring day. I know we are still waiting for updates on my boss’s condition and hoping that he can go home today.
I would appreciate your thoughts. I'm struggling a little with this.
What stands out to me in your post is that you said you were hired 18 months ago as your boss's successor and have made at least one "fatal" mistake. And when your boss was facing "fatality", you were in a position to be there for him and to help.
Asking for a sign leads to asking for another sign, and always asking for more proof. Like missing the forest for the trees. Since your username is loontunelover, Elmer Fudd was so intent on hunting rabbits, that Bugs Bunny would come up out of the rabbit hole behind him tap him on the back and ask him to describe what he is looking for, does it have long ears like this? a bushy tail like this? till he realized the answer was right in front of him and it finally dawned on him.
I'm not telling you what the answer to your prayer is, that is between God and you, just when you pray to then enter the time of walking it out with God, and wait for the time that the answer dawns on you, even if it is in the form of correction. Because where your heart is that is where your treasure is, and being with God first and not putting your job before that. As God then works all things out for good for those who love Him.
Early on and at a very devastating time in my life, God comforted me with His presence and I walked in fellowship with God, and during that period of time I asked for a sign and God gave me a sign, and I was so in awe that I asked for another sign and God went silent, and my heart sank. But I am now thankful for that because in that correction, I came to know when God is silent, that is the time for me to walk it out. In scripture many times when God met with and fellowshipped with someone, they set up a marker of remembrance on that spot. And then went on to walk it out from there. They didn't keep asking for more and more confirmation.
If you have that job as a desire in your heart, and it is the company's decision to make, then that decision will be made in it's time, and if they choose you to fill that position, then the choice will be for you to decide, and to walk with God in whatever decision is made. I admire that you openly admit to having made mistakes on your job, which is the first step in course correction and learn from it. Just as I have had to grow up in the school of hard knocks. Where the humility of owning a wrong, then becomes the benefit of openness to pruning, learning and growing with the new growth.
P.S. I hope your boss is recovering and doing well. He seems like a decent man who didn't fire you over the mistakes you spoke of. Which also placed you in the position of helping him in his time of need.
Last edited by chief scum; 11-06-2023 at 10:10 AM..
P.S. I hope your boss is recovering and doing well. He seems like a decent man who didn't fire you over the mistakes you spoke of. Which also placed you in the position of helping him in his time of need.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
You are right that maybe it is just time to "walk it out." There is so much speculation and guessing and wondering about what is going to happen for the team in the office. While we have survived without our leader for brief periods of time, they were planned. This absence, obviously, was not planned and we have been working together to fill in as much as we can.
My boss is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. He is still in hospital and tests are still being run. Tomorrow will be one week. I can only imagine the stress and upheaval in his and his family's lives. His wife keeps us updated. He is a very decent man and we hope he makes a full recovery.
I prayed for over 40 years. I'll say this much for God, whatever your definition of that is, God was very consistent........nothing ever happened. That's the truth. I finally ended up checking out Zen meditation and Zen guide lines. That was over 30 years ago and it changed my life and is still changing it. Now I don't pray for anything, I make plans, put them into action and rely on myself and on the interactions of everyone I meet. We have to work w/ the world we live in, that's reality.
I prayed for over 40 years. I'll say this much for God, whatever your definition of that is, God was very consistent........nothing ever happened. That's the truth. I finally ended up checking out Zen meditation and Zen guide lines. That was over 30 years ago and it changed my life and is still changing it. Now I don't pray for anything, I make plans, put them into action and rely on myself and on the interactions of everyone I meet. We have to work w/ the world we live in, that's reality.
Thank you. Other spiritual experiences are not discounted, at least not by me. I agree that just making a plan and moving toward a goal or just forward is just as valid in general. I don't believe in total predestination.
If you have two possible paths, how do you make your choice?
I prayed for over 40 years. I'll say this much for God, whatever your definition of that is, God was very consistent........nothing ever happened. That's the truth. I finally ended up checking out Zen meditation and Zen guide lines. That was over 30 years ago and it changed my life and is still changing it. Now I don't pray for anything, I make plans, put them into action and rely on myself and on the interactions of everyone I meet. We have to work w/ the world we live in, that's reality.
Here's to Zen then too!
Along the lines of "whatever works" as they say...
I'm not sure the reasons that God or Zen, hang gliding or anything else might work the same or so differently for different people, but it's really about what "makes people tick" one way or another. A dynamic that can't be simply explained or put in a bottle. If we can come to believe there is something out there looking out for us, actually doing well by us, helping us, then good for them, but I can't believe what I have found no good reason to believe. Which ultimately has me doing more as you describe. Making plans. Relying on others (or not) as I feel appropriate. Muddling along my life path as best as I am able. "One day at a time." I'm glad to feel I've been fortunate well beyond what I deserve so far. If I were to die tomorrow I will have lived a good full life.
Thank you. Other spiritual experiences are not discounted, at least not by me. I agree that just making a plan and moving toward a goal or just forward is just as valid in general. I don't believe in total predestination.
If you have two possible paths, how do you make your choice?
Depends on the two possible paths...
Are you at such a crossroads? I suspect that whether you think you get a sign from God that guides you or whether you decide by way of a good pros/cons comparison, you are likely to end up choosing the path that seems best for you regardless. Or maybe not. Such is life. Sometimes two steps forward, one step back. Other times it's one step forward, two steps back. Long as we keep moving is the thing generally speaking.
Are you at such a crossroads? I suspect that whether you think you get a sign from God that guides you or whether you decide by way of a good pros/cons comparison, you are likely to end up choosing the path that seems best for you regardless. Or maybe not. Such is life. Sometimes two steps forward, one step back. Other times it's one step forward, two steps back. Long as we keep moving is the thing generally speaking.
Yes, I feel there is a decision I need to make...that's kind of what started this whole mess!
I had prayed for guidance on which path to pursue, which path God "wanted" me to take. And within a couple of hours, my boss literally fell on the floor in our office.
He is fully on the road to recovery now, and has plans to return to the office as soon as he is able. That is a good thing, and probably what I should focus on.
While at least one path opportunity has a time constraint, for now I have chosen to let it go. My coworkers and I did something extraordinary together, and I am going to let that play out for awhile.
Yes, I feel there is a decision I need to make...that's kind of what started this whole mess!
I had prayed for guidance on which path to pursue, which path God "wanted" me to take. And within a couple of hours, my boss literally fell on the floor in our office.
He is fully on the road to recovery now, and has plans to return to the office as soon as he is able. That is a good thing, and probably what I should focus on.
While at least one path opportunity has a time constraint, for now I have chosen to let it go. My coworkers and I did something extraordinary together, and I am going to let that play out for awhile.
Yes I know. I've been following along since you started this thread. I'm an atheist, so I'm no expert when it comes to which path God chooses for people, but God will either choose for you or help you choose wisely. Something of a "no lose" scenario. Wouldn't you say? Your thread also reminds me a bit of something I always try to keep in mind...
May I find the “serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as it is and not as I would have it...”
This somewhat reminded me of the time an overweight friend was dreading her bowling league starting up again after the summer break. The reason was that a woman on the league had enthusiastically pushed her to try some new diet that had worked for her. My friend made a half-hearted attempt but went back to her old ways and hadn't lost an ounce, and she didn't want to face the woman.
She went back to bowling the first night and called me afterward. "Boy, did I luck out!", she said. "Mary broke her leg and won't be able to bowl again for months, so I'm off the hook."
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