I began attending the Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference (CCWC) in
2005. I came empty to the 2014
conference – no ideas, no direction, no purpose. I had completed the work I believe God called
me to write. I wondered what God wanted
next. My experience over the past nine
years assured me that God would meet me on the mountain. I had no idea that God would speak with such
clarity.
During these annual visits, I have made many close, fellow-writer
friends. At the 2014 conference, I
should not have been surprised when during breaks, or designated times of
fellowship, several men and women I’ve grown to trust, offered to pray for
me. On four different occasions, these
fellow believers spoke the word, “Transition,”
during their respective prayers. Then,
one keynote speaker emphasized that God was about to bring a, “Shift,” into our writing
ministries. I left the 2014 conference
with a clear expectation that my life was about to change. Little did I know how much.
After 35 years of combined military and Aerospace Industry service to
the Department of Defense (DOD), I had planned to retire on or about my 40th
career-year anniversary. But at the 2014
conference, I had a sense that God was calling me to retire sooner. On June 4, 2014, I suffered a second, more
severe, heart attack. While doctors and
nurses worked to keep me alive, I asked, “Lord, is this the, ‘Shift’?” After I was released from the hospital, I had
a follow-up visit with my primary-care doctor.
She stated with the firmness of an angry judge, “You are never going
back to work.” Because of the
Doctor/Patient privileged relationship, I had let my doctor know – to a point –
what I did in support of my company and the DOD. But no one, not even my superiors at work,
knew all that I did, and for security reasons, nor could they.
Within days, a conflict arose between demands from work, my doctor’s
insistence, and God’s calling. Work needed
to know how my company would fulfill its contract responsibilities without
access to the documents, points of contact, and who could replace me. Due to my medical condition, my company’s
Human Resources representatives prohibited me from talking with anyone from my
company or my customers. Throughout this
period, I kept seeking God for what He wanted me to do. I had confidence the Lord had a solution that
would bring peace to all concerned.
As my condition improved, I believe God granted me wisdom so that I
could negotiate a deal between my doctor and my company so that I could be
released to return to work. My company
agreed to assign all of my programs to other managers as the program customers
approved them. An example of how
reluctant customers are to replacing, “Key
Personnel,” I had one manager approved to assume my duties for one of
forty-plus programs after one month.
Then, God intervened.
Due to the President’s commitment to reduce defense spending, my
company responded with several cost cutting initiatives. One included a reduction and restructuring to
its staff. The day I returned to work,
the company announced its early retirement offer to employees who were
contemplating retirement in the near future.
I saw this offer not only as a gift from Heaven, but for me, I believed
that rejection of the offer would be an act of disobedience. Once I notified my customers that I would
retire before Christmas, they approved my recommended replacements. This made both my customers and company
happy. My last day arrived. I never knew the burden I bore until God
lifted it off of me and set me free from it.
The, “Transition,” or “Shift,” may still have steps ahead, but
it is clear that The Almighty is ordering them.
Thanks in part to last year’s CCWC, God gave me prior notice of the next
chapter He has prepared for me to write for His glory, to advance His Kingdom,
and have readers better appreciate His gifts of life and liberty.
