KINGDOM TRUST

20 years ago, I was an overnight assistant manager with Walmart.  Back then, we did in one shift what it takes two or more shifts to do today: unload trucks and stock the merchandise from those trucks. It didn’t matter whether there was only one general merchandise truck with 800 pieces (rare) or 1500 pieces (usual) or several trucks with a total of 2500 pieces (common during Christmas season.) Everything had to be unloaded, stocked to the floor or placed in overstock bins, and the backroom floor clear of all freight, in an 8 hour shift. One night we had 2 trucks totaling over 2800 pieces and a demoralized work crew. The back room was a hot mess when I got there at 8 pm and had managed to get it only half cleared and ready for unloading by the time the crew showed at 10.

This past Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we went bowling with family. I haven’t bowled in 7 years. And that time was only 2 frames. I quit after realizing I couldn’t bowl any longer, thanks to being all out of balance from 2 hip replacement surgeries 4 years prior. In the years leading up to those surgeries, I couldn’t bowl either as the pain from the deteriorating hips was too much. I used to bowl regularly when in the Air Force, for pleasure and in leagues, maintaining around a 200 average, with a high game of 258. After struggling through 2 games last Friday, I didn’t even knock down 100 pins either game.  This time around it was because of my knees.

Each of the above stories has a different morale, but the same result. The first involved attitude and the second involved focus.

20 years ago, prior to that 2800 piece night, I had committed to reshaping the attitudes of my crew. I had been off for two days and during that time I decided to teach them how attitude can make all the difference.  Little did I know about the 2800 pieces awaiting me on my return.  I showed up to work, discovered the daunting task before us that night, but pressed ahead.  I held the prework meeting in the back room, rather than the break room, and kept it very short.  I talked about a “can-do” attitude and challenged them to get the work done like never before.  I set the expectation that there would be no pallets on the floor in the back room.  Obviously, I got immediate pushback, to put it mildly.

I explained with that kind of attitude it would be impossible to accomplish, but with the right attitude, there was a possibility to accomplish. At 6:50 the next morning, I gathered the crew in the back room.  We had not met the expectation, but there was much to celebrate.  The crew had taken the challenge to heart, worked hard all night and as we gathered in the back room, they discovered that there was one pallet of bleach not in the steel.  They missed the expectation of a clear floor by one pallet of high turnover merchandise that would be gone before lunch. I pointed out that with a can-do attitude, much can be accomplished. Had they not started work with that attitude, the back room would have been a hot mess, to say the least.  The clear back room by morning became the norm for the remaining nine months I worked there.

Last Friday as I bowled and watched the others bowl, I thought back to my “glory days” of league bowling.  I recognized the result of a 200 average came from practice, awareness and focus. No two lanes bowl the same.  Lane conditions on any given night can vary.  The conditions on a particular lane can change during the course of a 3 game match even.  Practicing allows you the ability to adjust as you become aware of those changing conditions.  The one thing that never changes is your focus.  Good bowlers become creatures of habit, doing the same thing every time. They develop a sweet spot of focus and strive to hit that spot every ball bowled.  The better bowlers hit that spot often and usually know when the roll will have a good result because they were so focused, they saw the ball pass over the spot they were aiming for.

Much can be accomplished with the right attitude and focus.  They both rely on trust. We don’t know how things will end up at the end of the night but trusting in the right attitude will more often than not produce the intended results. Focusing on the objective at hand may not always produce the intended results but trusting in the practice and habits and study you have put in beforehand have a greater chance of positive results.

That’s how it is in the Kingdom realm.  Trust in God, remain focused on Christ, strive to lead a Christ-centered life.  There is one difference, though that makes trust even more important.  There is a specific goal working overnights at Walmart: unload the truck(s) and put all the freight away every night. There is a specific goal every time you bowl: knock all the pins down. Before you pop the door of the truck, before you unleash the ball from your grip, you know the specific goal. God has a plan for each of us. We don’t always know what that plan is. But we put our trust in Him, stay focused on Him, and know that whatever it is, His plan will be accomplished through us.  As Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Attitude. Focus. Trust.  Be Blessed!