Day 391 - July 11 - More lessons from ATC

I supervise a bunch of Air Traffic Controllers for a living. For the most part, they're a group of professional individuals who do a demanding job well and with pride. But, like any other group of individuals, there are differences in people.

I was working the other day, giving direction to ensure the operation continued to function safely, and I happened to be on the watch with a very broad spectrum of people. First, I had the group of people who, when given direction to go do a task which was difficult, or distasteful to the individual in question, figuratively shrug their shoulders and do the task assigned. No complaining, no avoidance, no gripes. While they may not like the assignment, they will still do as they're told. Then there are always a few, who, when given the same exact direction, seem more devoted to giving me a bellyful of "I don't want to do that" than actually completing the assignment.

As I worked, it dawned on me how much more I appreciate the folks in the first group - those who will just belly up to the sector and get the job done. As a group and individually, I have much more respect for these folks than I do for the ones in the second group. And suddenly it was as if big chunks of epiphany had dropped into my bloodstream - "Hey!" says I, "when I am given a task from God that I don't want to do, how do I respond?"

Now, y'all have been reading along with us for over a year, and all of you just went "Wow, he finally gets it!" Yeah, I know - I'm a bit dense sometimes.

Anyway, to answer my own question, I often find myself in the second group instead of the first, at least when it comes to responding to God. And there's only one response to that - shame on me. I know my Commander knows what He's about; I know He works good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose; and I know that He has given me a particular set of skills designed for the task He's laid out. So when I get an unpleasant assignment, it's time for me to see a bigger picture, square my shoulders, belly up and do the job.

You know, there's a sub-group of my employees. They're all in the first group, but there are some who don't hesitate to tell me when they see a better or different solution to the problem at hand. They say "Could we do it this way?" or "What do you think about...". And sometimes their ideas are better than mine, and sometimes their ideas do the same thing as my plan, just differently, and sometimes I opt not to change my plans. But sometimes I take their suggestions and run with them. And even better, sometimes when the outcome would be the same regardless of which plan we use, I go with their plan because they are valued and skilled employees who have my respect, and it brings them pleasure when I agree that they've got a good idea.

So this is the group of God's employee's, if you will, to which I want to belong. I'll take my best crack at any job assignment, because God's a pretty good manager and wouldn't give somebody something beyond their capacity to handle and I want to be obedient. But I also can see a different way to proceed, and so I'll bring my request to Him for a decision.

Because sometimes a good boss will change their plan at the behest of a good employee.

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