Hearing From God
UNEMPLOYMENT
In February of 2008, I found myself unexpectedly and abruptly unemployed for the first time in my adult life and remained so for 5 months. This was an extremely difficult time for my family. My job was our only source of income and Laura and I still had 2 daughters at home and one in college. Our oldest daughter was also somewhat dependent upon us, as her husband had abandoned her and our oldest grandchild. As a man who had been able to adequately provide for his family for 20 plus years, this was a big blow to my confidence. Thankfully, I was eventually hired by the company I still work for today and I have enjoyed the work and prospered more than in any other position I’ve ever held.
STRUGGLING WITH A NEW JOB
Without going to details as to why, my new job didn’t start off with a bang. I struggled to get things going. My primary role was to introduce a blood test for allergies to primary care providers (family doctors, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, etc.) and to educate them on how to order the test thru their reference lab. My company sells testing equipment to these reference labs and then sells them the reagents to be used each time a patient is tested. How many reagents are used in my assigned territory is how my performance is judged and has a big impact on my compensation.
A TROUBLING SETBACK
About 9 months after I started this new job, just as I was finally seeing the results of my efforts, all the allergists in Little Rock, thru their allergy society, sent out a letter to my customers essentially telling them to not listen to me. I immediately knew this going to have a negative impact on my job. How could I convince primary care providers to go against the recommendations of their local allergists? How would I be able to meet the expectations my company had for me? I found out about the letter on a Friday when a customer handed me a copy. I didn’t sleep well the next two nights, worried that my management was not going to like this and that it could possibly lead to me being unemployed again.
VISITING PREACHER
That Sunday morning, we had a visiting preacher and during his sermon, he told us the story of how he was treated in his local community when he first started pastoring his church. His ministry was fruitful as they were adding several new members, often people who had been members of other denominations in the area. This drew the attention of several other pastors in the area, so they all got together and sent a letter throughout the local community, warning folks to not be fooled by this new Primitive Baptist preacher. The brother went on to tell us how this made him question what he was doing. However, he then realized this was evidence that he was being effective, and that he should persevere. When I heard this, I began to shake. Of all the times I’ve sat in a pew listening to sermons, of all the visiting preachers I’ve heard in my life, why was this one here at my church, telling me his story THE Sunday after I had experienced something so similar? I knew God was talking to me, telling me to persevere. I slept much better that night and the following week my boss’s boss called me to tell me to not worry and that this letter was proof that I was good at my job.
THE RESOLUTION
Though it did impede my progress with some customers, others saw the letter as specialists trying to protect their turf, not necessarily being concerned about what’s best for patients. As it turns out, the response from the allergists was, in part, a big misunderstanding and I was eventually able to reconcile with most of them. Interestingly enough, the president of the allergist society who had signed the letter, I now consider a friend and confidant. He treats some of my family and has even spoken to primary care providers, on my behalf, and told them to listen to me.
I believe God has spoken to me several times in my life, though never as clearly as this and at a time I really needed to hear from him. Praises to him for giving me the ears to hear.
- Doug Burnett