Day 33

In middle of Kohls, behind the jewelry department and in between the women's and the men's sections, there lies no-man's land. This is the section that contains way too many styles and colors of purses, belts, scarves, hats, slippers, gloves, and other random items that can't find a home anywhere else. It's the section that people get to before realizing that they have no idea where the sock department is. Or the shoe department. It's the section that is almost always in need of tidying up because it is the forgotten land between departments. This is where I work.  This is the Accessories Department. I call it no-man's land because people who work at Kohls seem to avoid it like the plague. Every truck day, however, I get sent to work out the freight for the accessories department.  It's not a difficult or very skilled job; probably the most difficult thing is fighting off the monotony. Open a box, unwrap the merchandise from the plastic it is ensconced in, removed any additional pieces of paper or plastic whose purpose in life is to be annoying, and put the stuff away.  More times than not, in order to get the new merchandise out the old merchandise needs to be reorganized to make room.  This is why it always takes longer than it seems like it should. Despite the slowness, and the endless individually-wrapped merchandise, and the fact that I have to clean as I go and there never seems to be room for the things I need room for, I am fond of the accessories department. I have been there long enough to get over the monotony and frustrating part, and have the knowledge that although I feel slow, I can probably do it faster than almost anyone else in the store. Plus, I am really good at telling people where the sock department is. And the shoe department.

 My job is not very exciting or challenging and I would be lying if I told you that I loved it.  However, I don't hate it either, and for retail, Kohls is an excellent place to work.  My store has good management an I like the people I work with.  And, on top of all that,  it was a miracle that I got a job there in the first place. It was only by the grace of God that I was selected out of thousands of people for one of the original 130 positions when the new store opened. It wasn't anything I did; God allowed His favor to rest upon me, and I am incredibly grateful to Him for His provision in my life.

Why write about this now? Because I needed to remember.  It's hard to find joy at 5:42 in the morning when I'm driving to work in the dark and the cold. It's hard to find joy when I get back from work and my feet hurt and my knees hurt and I'm exhausted after only working four or six hours. I imagine it's going to be hard to find joy after I work for twelve hours on Black Friday. But it shouldn't be hard, because every time I go to work, and every time I come back, I have experienced  a miracle.  God gave me a job in the middle of a depressed economy.  He has always provided for my needs, even when I was without work, and He always will.  He also gave me a job that is decent, if not terribly motivating. My job could be so much worse than it is, and I am blessed to have the job that I do.

So on this day two days before Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my job.