Too busy for a calling

This week I think the thing that really grabbed me the most was a video of Jan Newman.  He talked about the importance of making sure we keep the priorities of our family and our faith in the forefront of our lives no matter what happens.  He said shortly after he started his company he was called to be a Bishop, then in a Stake Presidency.  He mentioned if you are too busy to fulfill a calling for the Lord something is wrong.  I really appreciated that perspective.  I interviewed a small business owner last year for one of my classes.  She owns, "The Bolt quilt shop" which is a small little business in a strip mall.  As soon as I walked in the door, I got excited, but during our interview I realized that business was her life.  She wasn't married or had children, she appeared to be in her late 60's and was a very kind, quiet woman.  As we talked I realized she was married to her business.  For the first time in my educational pursuits of Business Management and Entrepreneurship I found a negative.  I found something I didn't want.  I don't want to be too busy to hold a calling.  I don't want to spend every waking moment in a small store.  I want to own a small business, but I find I want a life too.  This is a quandry I didn't anticipate.  Mr. Newman said that in one of his classes the professor told the kids many of them would make lots of money, but that is not what the Lord wanted for them.  He wants them to do their home teaching! 

I am glad that I have encountered this little reality check.  It has awakened in me the realization that no success or endeavor will come before my family or my faith.  I guess I just never thought about it before. I take all of these business classes and they are full of competition and place and promotion and sales and margins and you think, how do I fit into all of this?  What will I do, how will I do it? These are questions I don't yet have the answer to, but I know what I won't do.  I won't let anything come before my family or my faith.  It's refreshing to draw a line in the sand.

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