Janelle Evans

To the women of the world, both old and young, each of you is a valued, beloved daughter of our Heavenly Father.  In his eyes, we are equally loved, yet, especially as the female gender, we tend to tear at each other’s weaknesses. Why? 

The woman working at the desk next to you, the young woman eating in the school cafeteria across the way, is on the same river of life as you.  We each have been issued a rickety rowboat to traverse it with.  Some may dress theirs up, with fancy paint and adornment, other boats may look slimmer than yours, but the tiny holes (our insecurities) are still there.

Stop ripping the oars (our self-esteem) out of each other’s hands, with our cuttings words, and cliquish ways.  You only have two hands in which to row with, so what do you need a third oar for?  The journey of life is not a competition.  Do you really think the Lord will be pleased if you cross some imaginary finish line first at the expense of your sister? 

Women everywhere, search your hearts.  We all have shortcomings, so who are we judge another for theirs?  We are supposed to be the softer, fairer sex of the human race.  It is time to revive the kindness that is diminishing inside us, and show the world what humanity really means.

In the economic climate in which we now live many think loyalty in the workplace is the last thing you need.  With the mounting job losses growing in this country and diminishing wages, it seems ridiculous to suggest it.  “The companies we work for aren’t loyal to us!”  It’s every man for himself now.  Right?

As teenagers, and the rising generation, don’t be fooled by the cynicism around you.  The moral compass of society is veering because virtues like loyalty are being held for ransom.  “If you’re loyal to me, I’ll be loyal to you.”  The world has forgotten that virtues are not something given or taken on a whim, or when it’s convenient.  They are the fabric that makes you, YOU, and should be reflected in your everyday actions. 

It is not foolishness to be loyal in the workplace.  The world will continue to crumble until the “us vs. them” stops.  You need employers—they give you money and help you live.  Employers need you to expand their business.  The only way to dig ourselves out of the economic hole we are in is together.

Whenever people talk about the qualities of a successful person, you’ll hear words like driven, smart, demanding, and hard worker.  Traits we’re told to assimilate into our own lives, if we want to taste success as well.  And while these things are not necessarily bad, there are other, less recognized virtues, I would rather have in someone I employ.

Imagine how different a workplace would be if people had more humility.  No one would feel spiteful resentment when the boss corrects a mistake.  All the backbiting and gossip would stop, because when your mind is full of your own shortcomings you’re not going to bother looking at others.  A humble person is teachable.  They want to do their best.  Someone like this would be easy to train, even in the most difficult of trades.   

Yes, in this demanding world you need to work hard, use your brain, and stay focused. But a good dose of humility will make you bearable to your coworkers. 

Next week, I’ll discuss another overlooked virtue in the workplace, loyalty.

Sometimes even when we’ve given our best—done all that we could—we fail.  In that bitter moment of loss, we often question why.  I am no different.

Back in high school there was an exclusive choir group, made up of only twelve students.  Any student in the 10^th-12^th grades could tryout.  So even in my small school, the competition was fierce.

Near the end of my sophomore year, I joined the throng.  There were only two soprano positions open, but I felt confident one would be mine.  (I know that sounds cocky, but I had won enough solos while doing community theatre throughout the years, any doubt I could sing was gone.) 

At the tryout, I confidently belted out a song I had practiced hundreds of times.  When I walked off that stage, I knew I couldn’t have done any better.  I nailed the performance.  But in the end, I didn’t win one of those coveted spots.  It crushed me.  For a time, I thought of little else but the why until I realized, or more than likely my mom told me, I needed to get over it.  I wasn’t doing myself any favors.

 Wallowing in the why of life holds us captive to past events we can’t change.  And there we will stay, until we finally ask ourselves, “What now?”

My ‘what now’ required a lot of humility to return to the larger choir group the next year, and not belittle those who had made the smaller one instead of me—even when I beat them all out for the lead role in the musical that year.  The final test of my ‘what now’ came at the end of my junior year, when I tried out for the smaller group again.  Nothing like a second lashing to see how tough you really are, but at the time, it was what I wanted more than anything.  And turned out to be the sweetest victory of my high school years.  More than fifteen years later, I still have the t-shirt from that small group tucked away in my drawer.

Your life will be full of all kinds of highs and lows.  When a low strikes, forget about the why, it is a question that usually can’t be answered.  Life simply isn’t fair.  Stop expecting it to be.  All you need to decide is what now?