This time of year is always choppy in business. The summer doldrums are gone and there are expectations for the holiday season (high and/or low expectations) and there is lots of planning going on for the coming calendar year. Some companies get serious about hiring and some use the fourth quarter to lay-off employees and write-off what didn’t work for the year. This year is particularly worse with the crashing stock market and the impact that is having on businesses and investors alike. Decreases in stocks, mutual funds, and 401K accounts of 30%+ and greater (and worsening at the time of this writing) puts a whole new psychological spin on work and what happens at the office. Most of the attitude that one brings in the office doesn’t start at the office, it starts at home or on the way into the office. A bad night’s sleep because of a sick child can cause all kinds of after shocks throughout a work day. Like the concentric ripples that come from one pebble in a pond, one bad attitude in the office can spread rapidly and the infestation can ruin the office’s productivity for that day and more. As people of faith are we immune to having a bad day? Of course not, but as examples and role models we are to do our best to stay above our emotions and outside influences and remain peaceful within our faith. Hard to do, huh? Here would be one verse to hang onto today as the troubles and tribulations might mount. Romans 5:3 says, “We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they are helping us develop endurance”. What I find most encouraging about that verse is that there is a built in expectation that we need endurance because we are in it for the long haul and that there are more choppy days to come. When I see those trials and problems land on my desk or in my lap, I do my best to look at them as training opportunities to get stronger and more faithful and to find a place of rejoicing for the rigors and drilling. If we can find ourselves a place of true peace, calm and rejoicing, I can guarantee that others will notice and you will have your chance to answer the question, “how do you stay so calm and nothing ever seems to get you down or ruffle your feather?” And then, best of all, you get to tell them the answer.

Reference: Romans 5:3 (New Living Testament)