What It Takes to Build a Resume

I’m standing in the lobby of a Mexican restaurant, on the phone with my brother-in-law. My sister has invited me to meet them for dinner and I'm the first to arrive.

“See if you can get one of the round booths in the corner of the bar so we can watch the games on TV,” he instructs. “If they’re already taken, you’ll have to hover nearby and wait for them to finish. As soon as they get up, grab the table.”

I hang up, hoping I can successfully execute the assignment I've just received for Project Ultimate Dinner Table. My brother-in-law works in sales and being bold and assertive are second nature for him. He thrives on it.  

I hate making a spectacle of myself. I already feel my face turning crimson because I know I'm not the right girl for this job.

I consult the hostess, but she confirms what my brother-in-law just told me. “Oh, those are the most popular tables so you just have to be really aggressive,” she says. 

She points to a nearby empty table. “Sit here and shark it out if you’d like.”

Shark it out? That must be restaurant-biz lingo. I’m thinking that this is a lot of work for chips and salsa. 

I settle myself in a chair and a voice behind me says, “Feel free to sit here but this is my table.” A man sets down his basket of chips and sits across from me.

I’m mortified and apologize profusely, silently blaming my brother-in-law for making me look ridiculous.

The man says he’s waiting for his girlfriend who hasn't arrived yet, and he can’t wait to see her reaction when she sees him sitting with me. 

I laugh a little nervously {hoping she’s not the violent type} as we chat for a few minutes, then turn to our phones.

If I had wanted to work on feeling less self-conscious and awkward, then this was the perfect {painful} exercise to build my social resume. 

If I’m honest, this might be what I need but I don’t really want to learn it this way.

I think building a resume, for the mind or the heart, might be a similar training experience.

Either way, isn't it easier to keep the fine-tuning and construction work under wraps and out of sight until it looks a little less messy and a lot more accomplished? 

When the work of the heart and soul is done in the dark, I can welcome it, but when it's put on display with a "please excuse the dust" sign adorning it, I cringe.

It wasn’t all that long ago that God took a look at my life’s resume and offered me a new position on my journey with him. One that was closer, deeper, nearer. 

To him.

In this new place he offered me greater access to him {and really, he offers that all along but I just didn't recognize it} and he asked me to spend more time with him, learning this new role.

I’d always known I was a child of God, a daughter of the king, but did I know him as my bridegroom, my warrior, my healer, my restorer, my friend? 

Did I know how much he loved me, fought for me, cared for me and wanted my company?

As I logged months and now years in this training-ground, I slowly discovered that as I wanted more of God, he wanted more of me. 

I had some faith skills to hone, some strengths to sharpen, some character traits to polish.

Maybe it’s easier to live with less hope to sidestep disappointment, but a cool heart is numb. 

It might save time to run through a prayer list like a check list, but the answers are overlooked and unrecognized.

It could take less effort to give up when God moves slowly, but faith without perseverance is weak. 

Could it be that in these places of training that are sometimes a desert, sometimes a wilderness, and sometimes a ruined wasteland, there emerges a doorway of hope in the clearing, where God waits to promote us to the next place of goodness he has for us?

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me, find life and receive favor from the Lord.  Proverbs 8:34-35

Finally, after what seemed like a never-ending wait, my sister, brother-in-law and the kids arrive at the restaurant, and I make the introductions as we all join the man at whose table I'm seated. 

Turns out my new friend is from my hometown of Pittsburgh and we all of a sudden had plenty to talk about.  

Our corner booth suddenly vacated and my brother-in-law cheerfully paid for my dinner for all my hard work of capturing the table. 

A few weeks later my sister told me they were at the Mexican restaurant again and my brother-in-law asked why she didn’t invite me.

My sister knows I’d rather leave that table-hunting job to somebody with a far more experienced resume than I have.

I'm joining my friends at Holley Gerth's place at Coffee for your Heart. Join me there for more posts from my blogger friends!