Having Faith: My Testimony

While working in Corporate America for a company I was devoted to for slightly over seven years, I went to the mailroom to check my mailbox one morning in 2008 and there was a button (pin) in there that the company had given to everyone to wear on their shirts for the week. They had several different colors, but mine was orange (my favorite color) and it read "Do something about it." I didn't think much about it at the time other than the fact that it was orange and that it was funny that I would get one of my favorite color. But, as I look back on it now, I realize that receiving that button on that day was a slap in the face telling me to WAKE UP and this is why...

You see, I wrote down a set of goals for myself January 1, 2008, instead of New Year's Resolutions and my top goal was to get promoted at work and be compensated for my skills and my worth (not to mention I had gone back to school and completed my BFA and had started grad school while working there). So I prayed daily, asking God to show me a sign if it was time for me to leave there and move on. I knew that along with prayer, I had to do my part, so I went to my boss daily, to let him know what I wanted and what I would do on my end to make it happen and what I had DONE already in the past 7 years that should have put me above most of the people there. My plea fell on deaf ears. He would sit there and listen and then tell me it wasn't in his ball park to make those changes and that I should talk to his boss. So, I went to his boss, who in turn sent me back to my boss and so forth. This game went on for a few days before I said NO MORE! I am not a tennis ball and I will not be tossed back and forth across a net like this, so I told them both that I understood there was nothing they could do and I went back to my desk like an obedient worker. Little did they know that my plan was already in progress and there was nothing they could do to send it on a detour.

That night, I cried really hard, unsure of what was going to happen. All I knew was that I was unhappy and looking for excuse after excuse to call in to work the next morning because I did not want to go to that place I called a prison and sit in my small cell. I cried every single night and morning from that point until the morning of May 1, when I got out of bed, said a prayer and went to the bathroom to take my shower. While in the shower, I prayed again and somewhere between drying off and arriving to work that morning, I had typed my letter of resignation and sent it to my boss.

Needless to say, when I arrived at work, my boss was waiting on me and called me into his office. He asked me if I was unhappy there and I immediately answered with a pissed off "YES!" Of course, he tried to offer me what I call a piss poor offer to stay, so that was another sign from God that it was destined for me to move on. After he asked me what lucky company had the pleasure of hiring such a talented person and I looked him straight in the eyes and said "My house", I finally got the promotion and raise I was due when I saw the priceless look on his face from his ego being shattered that he didn't have an opportunity to call ahead to a company and bad mouth me like he had done so many others.

So, in closing, I would just like to say that God is good ALL THE TIME and even when you're down and out and feel like it's the end of the road for you or if you realize you're going to work everyday because you've gotten comfortable knowing you will get that paycheck every two weeks, pray on it. God will see you through.

Oh yeah, I still have that button today and it sits on my computer desk for me to see as my daily inspiration. So, my advice to you is what my button says...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Rochelle D. Scott, MBA
Designer Illustrator Photographer
(Boss Lady) - that name was given to me in grad school and I do believe it fits me well. :)