INSPIRASUNS

Over the last few months, I’ve been going through the process of hiring a new team member. To say that it hasn’t been easy might be a tad of an understatement. There have been hundreds of applications and resumes submitted for the position. Fortunately, I haven’t had to go through every one of them, not so fortunate for our HR person though.

I have reviewed my share of the submissions though and I have to admit, it’s been interesting learning more about people’s backgrounds. I’ve read about salespeople, fitness center managers, CPAs, and even construction supervisors. Yes, the last one had me scratching my head, I wasn’t sure why the change from the current job of construction manager to becoming an administrative person at a church. So you can sort of see why I’ve been struggling with this process 🙂 .

Well, a few weeks ago I interviewed a woman who had pretty much all of the skill sets I was looking for. She was nice, dressed professionally, had a positive way about her, and had experience that had me feeling confident about the training process with her. I spoke to our HR person after the interview and gave her my thoughts. I prayed about the decision for the next day or so and then asked that she come back for a second meeting with my boss. I was feeling good about this and looking forward to having someone back in this position.

The day came for our final meeting. Just after arriving at work an email popped into my inbox. It was from our candidate saying, “After a lot of reflection and prayer following my initial meetings, I found myself genuinely torn between two very different opportunities. I’ve gained clarity after a meeting I had yesterday and I’ve decided to move forward in a different direction”. She shared that this wasn’t an easy decision and she truly held our church in high regard. Um…I wish I had known for starters that she was even considering a second position, as she only shared that she was available to start at any time.

Well, you can probably guess how I handled that communication. Not only was I just a tad upset, I was deflated. I felt like this was going to be a great addition to our team, supporting so much that we want to accomplish. Yes, bummed would not even cover my feelings. And…ugh…back to the drawing board of reviewing countless applications.

A week passed and I was just wrapping things up on Friday afternoon, just getting ready to head out. Again, an email popped into my box, it was from our candidate. She explained that after a very challenging first week, she felt as if she had made a very wrong decision. She wondered if there was still an opportunity to meet with us and if would we consider her. Hmm…I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. I had many questions. My HR person and I agreed to let the email sit until Monday.

I did reach out at the start of the next week, setting a time to talk with her. We had our call, and I asked some very pointed questions and gathered her thoughts. We left things that I would follow up with her after interviewing a couple of new candidates. Admittedly I was still a little hurt I guess you’d say. After all, she rejected us, and now she’s coming back when things didn’t work out. Can’t you just see me stamping my little feet…

I had a conversation about things with one of our clergy in the office. She was asking me how the search was going and I gave her the latest about this candidate. She said something to me that has stuck for the last week. “Well, pray about it, and let’s see where it leads. You know, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance”. Well, from experience, I know I was grateful many, many years ago when I made the wrong decision to leave a job, and my previous boss was willing to let me come back 🙂 .

Her words keep coming back to mind and yesterday I reached out to our candidate to see if she still had an interest. I’m happy to report that she is very interested and we will meet on Monday. I’m asking Father to guide this decision, to show the path forward, and I think He is. We’ll see what Monday brings.

Friends, we are all human, we make mistakes. You know what, our Lord is always there to give forgiveness when we simply admit our mistakes and ask for that forgiveness. He gives us second, third, fourth, and more chances. Shouldn’t we be willing to give others a second chance when we feel wronged or hurt? It’s difficult at times I know, however, if we ask Father to help guide the way, heal the hurt, and calm the emotion, we’ll make our way through. And…we might even find that giving that second chance was a great decision.

Have a good day friends. Please continue to lift prayers for the return of sweet Emily Rea.

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.