It's been a while since I have posted anything; mostly due to opening of the McDonald's. I was told at the end of April that I would be transferring from the Seneca McDonald's to the West Union McDonald's, which is 45 mins from my house. For many reasons I was unhappy about this move. 1. It's further from my house. 2. I worked at the Seneca store for 6 years!! 3. I liked the people and mangers that I worked with and for. 4. It's new, unknown and different...a little scary. The West Union store had been closed and rebuilt to a new and beautiful store. So when the end of May came and I was released from the Seneca store to go set up the West Union store...it was bittersweet. I had been really negative about it and so not looking forward to it. But at the same time I was ready to go because things were really tense and stressful. So now we have been open for 2 days and I had been getting KILLED!! Mostly trainees and A LOT of people coming to eat..not so wonderful combination. So how does this relate to my walk with God??
I have always thought about why God has left me in the position that He has, at McDonald's. I have discovered that there are a lot of qualities that a manger must have that Christians are to understand and have, that God also has with us people. The only thing I can figure is that God is leaving me where I am so that I can learn to understand and have theses qualities. Not that I am just a terrible person but to help me see how God views me and therefore help me to see His other children this way. So what are some of these qualities?
1. Patience. Any person in this world that has worked in fast food, especially as a manger knows that patience is a must. You have trainees ALL the time (at least that is how it feels). They are clueless as to what is going on around them or what to do. When you are trying to run this $4 million business, the last thing you need is a person coming up to you asking about the schedule, clocking in or something else like that. Then there are the crew people that have been there a while that act like a trainee. Even worse. And there are those days where it feels like it's one disaster after another and you are ready to go home! God is patient with us every time we act like a "trainee". He knows that we do not have all the answers and know what to do all the time so He is patient and understanding with us.
2.Grace. People make mistakes. Trainees and established crew are not perfect human beings and even when you tell them what to do, sometimes you can't be specific enough with them. They don't always follow directions and don't always listen. Hmm. Sounds a lot like a Christian. God tells us what he wants us to do, yet no matter how specific He is with us, we ignore Him. However, He shows us grace because He knows we are not perfect and we have desires of the flesh that are more important to us now than the eternal blessing we will receive later; We act like this because we are selfish and would rather like to believe we know what is best. God gives us grace and does not punish or reprimand us. As a manager, I have to show grace to all the crew no matter what.
3. Mercy. Again, people make mistakes. Even when something is done wrong, it doesn't mean that the person should be punished. Maybe they are having a bad day. Sometimes they need a little mercy. God shows us mercy a LOT. Very often we deserve to be punished but God doesn't because He loves us and knows sometimes we just have bad days.
4. Optimism. Attitude really affects how we respond to issues. Since I found out I was being transferred to West Union I was really negative. People started telling me that I need to be positive about it because good things can come. So as the weeks dwindled down I just changed my attitude and started thinking about it all in a different light. I started saying everything was going to be great, as cheesy as it sounds. When you see someone walking around being negative about all the things in their life, do you really think they know God?? How could they?? Someone that knows God, knows that He has a plan and that He would never set out to harm us.
So these are a few. Feel free to share your experiences!!
