My friend Aaron shared a couple of stories for this post. By way of background, Aaron used to work in a developing nation.

Approaching Burnout

It had been a tough few months. I was on the verge of burnout and desperately needed a break to recharge. My family was looking forward to some vacation time. We packed our bags and headed to the airport for our flight. When we got there, our flight wasn’t listed anywhere. As we approached the airline, we were told that the flight was rescheduled for tomorrow. Since there weren’t enough passengers on the Friday flight, they combined two flights together for Saturday. There were no other flights that day to our destination.

My body ached at the thought of waiting another day before our needed rest. The reschedule meant we would have to wake the young kids up at 3am the next day. We complained to a teammate who told us her friend Yolanda must be on the same flight as us since her flight was moved to tomorrow as well. 

In my frustration, I asked God, “Why is this happening? Why is it so hard to get some rest?” In the stillness, I heard God tell me, “There is a reason, you just don’t know it yet.”

The next day, we arrived at the airport once again, half awake and feeling defeated. As we approached the counter, Yolanda approached us. She needed our help. The airport security wouldn’t let her on the flight since she didn’t have a visa for the destination. Yolanda didn’t need a visa for her destination since she was entitled to a visa on arrival. The real issue was that the security official wanted a bribe, and he thought Yolanda, a young woman in her twenties traveling alone, would be an easy target. Yolanda didn’t have the money to pay. 

As soon as the security officer saw Yolanda talking with me (a foreigner), he immediately apologized to us. Yolanda walked beside my family all the way onto the flight without any further hassle. In the end, my inconvenience led to a timely encounter which was the lifeline of someone else’s day.

Shattered Hopes

My friends and I run a social enterprise that employs youth in poverty in a volatile country with an ongoing war. After months of hard work, our business was starting to pick up. The youth we employed were beginning to have hopes and dreams about their future. Then one day, it all came crashing down. The government announced a new conscription campaign that targeted youth.

Our employees’ dreams shattered, hope dissipated, fear ran high. I went before God in silence, not knowing what words to even say. In the stillness, I heard God telling me to pause the entire operation for one month. I was to use the time to care for our young employees. I was to simply be there for them to lean on. This was scary because our company only had one month of cash flow. Taking a whole month to care for the youth would mean risking the whole operation.

For the remainder of the month, we had deeper conversations with each employee than we ever had before. While they struggled to talk with their parents about the situation, they openly shared their pain with us. We carefully guided them to think through their options. In the end, the youth who remained with us developed a deeper sense of family commitment that went far beyond ordinary working relationships. The business quickly recovered under the hands of these committed youth. 

---

Thank you, Aaron! What a great reminder to pause and ask the Lord what do during times of stress.

Do you have something to add to the conversation? If so, scroll down to the very bottom of this page and add your comments.