Hello Friends,

I have been very stressed lately, not by work, but by life.  Life is hard, and I am a worrier.  I worry about people, I worry about wasting energy by turning my air conditioner too low, I worry if I am supportive enough of other people.  I worry if people see Christ in me, I worry about most everything.  The past week seemed to be more so.  I ended up talking to my manager at work about my anxiety on a specific topic.  She is a WONDERFUL Christian lady, and very understanding.  I've had several managers in my life, and they have almost all been good at being managers, but this one is different.  She is exceptional.  She makes it known that it is VERY important to her that we have a work/life balance, that if we are overwhelmed at work to reach out and she will see if there is a way to re-set the workload balance, either long-term or short-term depending on the situation.  She cares about our ability to do our job, not just physically but mentally as well.  

I'll be honest, I first met this manager over 15 years ago when she worked in a different department.  She came across as very efficient, authoritative, straight forward, former military, and yet a good manager.  She was easily in the top 5 most intimidating people I ever met.  

Fast forward to today.  Although she is VERY busy, she tries hard to make time for her team if someone needs to talk.  She is still efficient, a very good leader (not just a manager), very caring, and understanding, she reminds us all we are human, not perfect robots.  I don't see "military" when I see her now.  I see a manager, a leader, and a sister in Christ.  I feel like God has placed her in my life as my manager.  Someone who has empathy for people whether they are struggling with work or with life.  A good manager like her is really hard to find.  At the beginning of the year, when HER boss asked each member on our team what we wanted to learn this year, I told her what I wanted to learn.  But I admitted I was concerned that would mean changing managers.  

Sometimes I wonder what changed.  Did my manager change?  Over the past 15 years did she learn and grow as a person that makes her more approachable today, or did I change my perception of her?  Perhaps it is both.  Perhaps learning more about each other through work helped both of us adapt to each other and learn to better communicate with each other.  Either way, I am grateful for a Christian manager, who cares about us as people, cares about our mental health as fellow humans, and not just about how we do our jobs.  

I was talking to a friend the other day about how God always knows the right people to send into our life at the right time.  Sometimes we need to look for it, but we can see God's purpose.  Life is hard, and God wants us to have other people in our lives to lean on and support each other.  Hopefully we can help others learn more about Jesus as we show God's love and support them through difficult times.

I am a follower of Christ, I am not perfect, but I love Jesus.

Until Next Time,

Liz Allen