Now what - got a job, spending less time with God

[crenfro]

Hello.

After 12 years of staying at home I went back to work. And now it’s coming up on 1 entire month of my new job, and I am missing Adoration, not getting to pray like I used to, getting irked and irritated with people at the new job, becoming so exhausted that I’m scared to be around others lest I lose my temper.

This morning at work I got grilled (verbally, not literally) about some things that I didn’t even know were my responsibility by this one employee and instead of relieving me after my shift she tried to get me to do even more work (a 12 hour shift is a long time!). She’s been working with a broken leg that’s in a cast, so I was willing to do the extra thing she asked, but she was fault-finding too.

I guess she was doing me a favor by showing me how it feels when I do fault-finding with other people.

I’m beginning to feel the usual feelings of being a failure.

Also, I’ve applied to a program to further my education in the field I’m working in and I’m not sure I’m going to be accepted and I’m worried about it.

Any words of wisdom? Of support?

Thanks for listening.

 

[Bill_Martin]

Sounds like these difficult situations at work are God’s way of telling you to pray at work. Don’t let prayer be something relegated to just a scheduled time and place.

 

[robertmidwest]

Hello.

After 12 years of staying at home I went back to work. And now it’s coming up on 1 entire month

I think you are just going through a period of adjustment.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

When you go to work, take Christ with you. Don’t compartmentalize your faith. See the person who is critical of you through God’s eyes. We can all use correction and we all need help at times. Your decision to go the extra mile for your coworker was admirable. continue to find ways to be Christ to others as you go about your duties. A new job has lots of stress, perfectly normal. Keep the faith and congratulations on getting a job after so long a time. Rejoice in the Lord for He is good, His love is everlasting.

 

[Della]

All the great saints have said that work is prayer. Work isn’t something apart from our spiritual lives. It’s an integral part of it. As you work offer it to God, along with your co-workers and all those you are encountering in your life outside home.

As robertmidwest stated, this is a period of adjustment. So, you need to rethink a few things. It may be you were too high up in your ivory tower to see some things as they really are. That’s good because now that you’ve had to rejoin the active life you will grow in your faith and love others in ways you weren’t before. It’s a challenge, it’s true, but God’s grace makes challenges surmountable. So pray for God’s grace, do your work, offer all to him, and be at peace.

 

[Sunbreak]

The person to ask about job duties is your supervisor. Sometimes another employee will try to foist their work off on someone else so it is best to check out if it is one of your responsibilities. Of course you can still do extra and help out if the need arises. I once had someone take work out of their basket, look at it and put it in mine. I looked at the stuff and realized it was not really mine to do and asked him why he put it in my basket and he simply answered that he didn’t want to do it. As for her being critical of you, maybe that is just her personality so don’t get caught in the trap of trying to please her because you won’t win that game. Just try to be pleasant to her and do your job to the best of your ability.

 

[crenfro]

Thank you for these wonderful, wise and comforting replies.

 

[St_Francis]

You were so lucky for all those years to be able to go to Adoration, etc.

Now your circumstances have changed, thanks be to God! He does not expect you to live as you were before, because He knows that now you have obligations to your employer.

People are criticizing you–that is really hard. But often God sends us these hard moments to strengthen us. When someone criticizes us, we are supposed to consider if there is truth in the comment. If there is, do we need to do something about it? If there is no truth in the comment, then we should let it slide away from us as nothing personal.

If we are truly humble, if we are truly focused on God rather than self, say the saints, criticism will not bother us. Offer it up to Jesus, and pray for the person, then move on. This is something I expect to have to “practice” all the rest of my life, but when I do it right, it really is so much better!