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Stinky
Diapers, Prayer, and The Perfect Job
By Karen Hemmes The Stinky Diaper Section
Okay, I admit it.
It was the stinky diaper that started me thinking. Before my three
daughters began attending school, I was determined to be at home to care for
them. Our family budget, however,
needed a bit of a boost so I worked to make extra money in whatever ways I
could. Mostly, I did daycare at
home. That way, I was home with my
own children and able to volunteer at their schools. When my youngest daughter went
off to Kindergarten, I was still taking care of other people's children. And it
was in the middle of changing a stinking diaper belonging to someone else's
child that started me thinking, "Why am I still doing this?" The
Prayer Section
This truth had me requesting
prayer at the weekly ladies' prayer meeting at church.
"Please pray for a job for me," I asked the ladies there.
"This can’t be just any job.
I only want to work ten-to-twelve hours a week.
I want it to be totally flexible so I can still volunteer at school, have
time for my part-time college classes, be able to continue coaching on Bible
Quizzing trips and be free to go to Camp Meeting and General Conference and
family vacations." And then I
added the rest. "I know it
doesn't exist, but surely God can create the perfect job for me."
Now, why would I think that I
could ask God for something so specific? Many
people believe they should take only their "big" requests to the God
of the Universe, you know, things like world hunger and world peace.
Stuff like that. But, I'd read in His Word that he wanted me to ask Him for
things: “For
verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith. Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark
11:23-24) So we prayed. And I believed
that the God of the Universe would prepare the
job for me. It would fit my skills and my life perfectly.
Why shouldn’t it? If God was making the job, it'd be right.
He does everything right! The
Perfect Job Section
I have to admit that I didn't think too much more about the prayer request for the next several days. (Maybe I was too busy changing stinky diapers.) As a matter of fact, when I received the call offering me a job, I didn't know what the lady was talking about at first. JoAnn had been coming to our
church for a few months and had been at that Ladies' prayer meeting.
While working at a temporary receptionist's job, she heard two ladies
chatting as they walked past her desk. "I
just want someone for ten-to-twelve hours a week," Mary Kay was telling the
other lady. "I know that
person probably doesn't exist, but that's what I need." So JoAnn told Mary Kay about me
and Mary Kay called me, then hired me on the spot. What a culture shock I was stepping into! While I'd been a quick learner
in everything I'd ever attempted and had a well-rounded education, I was
"office-ignorant." It
had been years since I'd worked in an office atmosphere. And the personal computer had barely been in existence when
I'd last held a "real" job! On my first day, my new boss
asked a girl to train me to work the simple invoicing program on our tiny
Macintosh computer. I was
fascinated by the computer and full of questions about it.
"How do you get that little arrow to move on the screen?" I
asked her. Very patiently, she
introduced me to the computer's mouse and showed me how it controlled "that
little arrow on the screen." What
a chance Mary Kay could have taken in hiring me¾especially
since she didn’t know that the job was God-made just for me In those days, our company
produced and sold educational filmstrips and videos to schools and libraries. My
responsibilities included generating a computer record of the transaction,
packing boxes, shipping the product and invoicing the customer. It wasn’t rocket science, but
it sure beat changing diapers! The job has evolved over the
last eight-and-a-half years. Educational
filmstrips and even videos are no longer sold much in the school and library
market. In response, Mary Kay and I have created a publicity consulting company
in the school and library market. Her
knowledge of the industry is unparalleled and her services are in constant
demand and I'm her right hand (wo)man. This
job now utilizes my strengths¾some
I didn't even know I had. Along
with the increased responsibilities, though, the hours have remained as flexible
as I want them to be. I have responsibilities,
including handling much of the company's finances, managing and editing the work
of a stable of freelance writers, and organizing the publicity campaigns in my
market for the large corporations who hire us. I even pick up the mail from my boss's house when she's out
of town. The ten-to-twelve hour job I
started all those years ago is now twice that. There's actually enough to do for
me to work full-time, but I still want to be available for my family and the
church and the schools. So, instead
of adding more work hours to my own schedule, I was recently able to hire
another Apostolic mom (who's been changing the diapers of other people's
children) to work for us in her own home for (that's right!) ten-to-twelve hours
a week! (Who knows what her
job will look like in eight years?) God knows exactly what we need.
He is God, after all. He knew I wasn't the "corporate world"
type. He knew I wasn't interested
in being in an office all day, every day. But
He also knew that I had valuable experience to offer a company.
He created a job for me that fit my strengths perfectly.
He even created a boss for me whose personality meshes with mine! On those days when I doubt that
the Creator remembers my name, I remind myself that, not only does He know my
name, He knows me.
He proved it by creating my job out of nothing.
I have no reason to doubt Him¾ever. So, when I say thanks to God, I
remember to thank Him for the job. And I also remember to say thanks for all the
years it's been since I've changed a stinky diaper! ninetyandnine.com
ã
2000, Karen Hemmes --------- Karen
Hemmes is
the wife of Mark, the mother of Karly, Dana and Destiny and one of the six
singing Gordon Sisters. When
she’s not traveling with her sisters, working at her job or running
parent/teacher meetings at her daughters’ schools, she can most often be found
soaking in a bubble bath with a fun book. Have an opinion on an article? Let us know how you feel! Click feedback & fill us in. |
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