Thankful for My Co-Workers

I've made some great friends at the office over the years.  We spend 1/3 of each day together.  Pretty soon, it begins to feel like family.

When I first started working, I worked in offices like banks, lawyer's office, dentist office and the courthouse.  I mainly worked with women.  I made a lot of friends in those offices - ladies who impacted my life.  I suppose the two closest of those friendships were Glenda Prosser and Janae Eskew.  Glenda and I worked at the courthouse together and her in-laws later on attended my home church.  Glenda has now gone on to Glory, but left behind many memories of her sweet and gentle spirit.  She was one of the truly nicest people I've ever known.

Janae Eskew was a lady I worked with for about 10-11 months in a lawyer's office.  She was very helpful to me during that time in my life.  (A time when my husband was really struggling with his illness.) She was a lot of fun, and I admired her so much that my middle daughter's name is Janae.

But most of my working life (16 years and counting) has been in church offices where I'm the only woman and I worked with pastors and youth pastors.  I'm thankful to have worked with some great ones.  Every one was special and unique in their own way.  

Of course, some were more fun to work with than others.  For example, one of my pastors (who shall be nameless) loved to pull practical jokes as a way to release tension.  He also was pretty good with altering documents with photo shop and making letters and brochures look real.  He pulled many a prank with that capability.  I once received a birthday card from him where he had pasted my head onto the body of a nun.

It's always fun to work with the youth pastors - although it was a challenge as well.  They are chronically late, both with appointments and with turning in articles for the bulletin or newsletter.  Typically, they don't spell well or construct sentences in a sensible manner.  Yet, a youth pastor seems to be more enthusiastic and more on fire about sharing Jesus.  You gotta love them!

I have to give props to one of my favorite people to work with, ever, and that was Dale Holman.  Bro. Dale started as a youth pastor and ended up an associate pastor.  I thought he was a master with the illustrative sermon, and he was full of creative ideas.  The best thing about him, though, was his good-natured personality.   His most admirable trait?  He spent regular time in the sanctuary praying.  Other people might tell you they are in their office praying, but he really was in there for hours praying.  I know because I often had to interrupt him.


I also have to say that my current pastor and youth pastor have been wonderful men to work with. We get into a lot of theological discussions and I feel challenged by their teaching.  We might not agree on everything, but they do make me think. What's even more special about them is their willingness to help.  When we experienced the flood that happened to us in 2011, they were there helping to sandbag, move our furniture and helped us to rebuild.  It doesn't get any better than that.

I'm thankful for all the wonderful people God has sent to work with me!

All during the month of November, I will be sharing my gratitude for all God has given me. I'm joining Joyful Reader on her Giving Thanks Challenge at her blog, Encouragement for Daily Bible Reading.