5 is a lovely number

Carrying on my discussion about worth. I talked about my friends, which i will mention again later on in this blog, but right now I will talk about my job. There are some things that make me feel rejected and there are other things that make me feel wanted and needed. I got my evaluation back from my boss. Unfortunately, the field I work in is run by a bunch of pansies so you can't get merit based raises. Anyway, my evaluation is based on fifty question with answers ranging from 1-5, 5 being the best. I got so many 4's and 5's that the agency supervisor questioned my boss about it saying that it must be too high. However, my boss assured the supervisor (who doesn't know me very well) that the scores are accurate. Then my boss went on to offer me a position as an assistant manager for another one of the houses. Though he couldn't make any promises, the fact that I would be considered for that position is almost heresy with my agency. They have a hard and fast rule that you need to be in the field for 4 years to take that position, no exceptions. I have had two years. The way our agency is run, i understand why the 4 year rule is in effect. There's tons of stuff to know! My point in all of this is that the managers and my co-workers all know I will have to leave soon, due to living so far away (over an hour). They have all, in their different ways, expressed that they will be at a great loss when I leave. That part has been nice.

So, this is a follow up thought on my previous comments on my friends. Anyway…I also saw a couple of old friends from Youthstorm. Youthstorm is a youth group ministry that I was involved with a few years back. I ran up to one of the kids Josiah and gave him a kiss and just hugged him for a good minute. Man, it’s great to see old friends! It kind of reminds me of a friend I saw at Uno’s a few months ago. He is one of those guys that is great at making you feel like you’re special. I played tennis in college and he was on the tennis team with me. Most of my school had no idea where the tennis courts were and many of my friends hardly knew that I won the Conference Championship for number 1 singles! But I can guarantee you all of Baby G’s friends knew. He would introduce me to his friends and say, “I played tennis with this guy, he is…” He’d then go off just making me sound like a much better guy than I am. The thing about him is that he’s genuine too. Just this past weekend I saw Jake Funnell. He was another guy from my tennis team that was a splendid fellow. He introduced me to a few of his friends and just went off on how amazing I was and how I walked with God in great character. He obviously doesn’t know me as well as he thinks, but my point is that it was nice to have such nice words spoken. And it was great to see him and give him a big hug. It’s weird…I complain I don’t have friends, yet I know I do. I have friends. I fellowship with some of them on Sunday’s at church. However, my problem is the lack of fellowship that I have during the week. Either way, I’m still thankful for these people from all over that I still have friendships with. I think the thing that is puzzling isn't that I don't have any close friends. I have a decent amount, but those friends that are the ones I can count on and know that they are there for me don't live nearby. They live all over the United States...even into Asia actually:) I like that in some ways, but i think that's what makes it tough during the week, as I mentioned above.