I have spent a significant portion of my time over the past 18 years in oil refineries as part of my work for Matrix Technologies, an engineering firm based in Maumee, OH. Of all these, the refinery located in Lima, OH is where I would drive sometimes 2 to 3 per week to meet with site personnel, walk the plant, attend review meetings, and check on installations.
The staff is a close group, more like a family than coworkers, and I have developed many friendships that have continued to this day. One process engineer that I really connected with would contract us to help define projects that were in the initial stages. These projects always began with an email requesting a proposal with specifics on the goals of the design. During the kickoff meetings for these projects, my colleagues would ask questions to which the process engineer from Lima would answer, “that’s what I hired you for,” meaning, “your job is to help me.”
This happened on numerous occasions. My process engineer friend is now semi-retired. We still laugh about what became one of his “isms.”
As most are aware, another election season is nearing completion and candidates running for local, state, and national offices are making their final appeals to voters. Unfortunately, the majority of ads are negative, using fear to scare voters into making a decision.
As I was asking God one afternoon to move in this season, He reminded me of another appeal, one that will continue long after the election is over.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” – 2nd Corinthians 5:17-20
Jesus is asking us to be His ambassadors, bringing light, salt, and truth to others. God certainly could do it all, but He chooses and equips us to carry His message.
I thought of my friend from Lima.
Be involved, exercise your right to vote. It is a privilege.
For us…
The campaign continues.