I have a confession to make — this post has been loooong overdue! I know I said I’d continue the Amazing Grace for Moms series throughout June, but before I knew it, June had snuck up on me and flashed by at the speed of lightning, and now it’s already July! 🙁 My sincerest apologies to you all, and especially to those who submitted posts for this series. 🙂
Anyway, I’ll try harder to be regular with this starting this month, OK? (The operative word being “try.” LOL!)
To start off, here’s a guest post from Mommy TG, i.e. Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag, who, like me, is a Catholic homeschool mama, writer and blogger — among other things, too! (Check out her complete profile here.) May you be inspired by her story and be amazed by His grace! 😉
Thriving by the Grace of God
Thrive is defined by Merriam-Webster.com as:
1. to grow vigorously: flourish
2. to gain in wealth or possessions: prosper
3. to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances.
In The Free Dictionary, it is defined as to make steady progress; prosper.
I feel so blessed already just by reading these definitions of the word thrive. The word kept coming into my mind as I was thinking of what to share when Tina invited me to write a guest post for her blog’s 50 Days of Amazing Grace.
Let me share how the different definitions of thrive has been applicable to me.
I won’t be able to share the details of my story in this post but I will do my best to give you a glimpse of my adventure with God as manifested in my professional life and the choices that I made over the years.
I graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. I was already offered a job even before I officially graduated. I started as a Management Trainee in a fast food restaurant, got promoted and given bigger responsibilities, and became Officer-in-Charge of a branch in just two years. Then, I resigned from my job and turned my back on a promising career in the restaurant business.
Many people did not understand why I made that decision. Many people are either unemployed or underemployed, or are dreaming of being able to apply what they studied in their jobs. There I was living the dream of many and yet I chose to let go of something very good.
Why did I resign? I resigned because I had an “aha” experience. I realized what my true passion was. I realized that though I liked the restaurant business and I was good at it, there was something else that made my heart race faster and my mind ever so active. It was helping people develop to their full potential by inspiring them and training them. I discovered this as I was handling the training and development of our staff in the restaurants where I was assigned. I experienced a different kind of fulfillment and joy.
So armed with that discovery and faith in God whom I believe was the one who planted that desire in my heart to make a career shift, I left my stable and promising job and looked for a job in training.
Another compelling reason for me to leave my job then was that it hindered me from attending regular prayer meetings in a Catholic Charismatic Community of single professionals. Moreover, my shifting work schedule in my job made it very challenging for me to enjoy the presence of God daily in the Eucharist. There were times when I would doze off during Mass while kneeling and praying with my eyes closed.
Shortly after I resigned, I was hired by a training company mainly for my potential. I had little experience but the owner of the company believed in me so much that he hired me as Training Officer. I felt God’s assurance through him. I learned many things in that company including how to use Power Point and how to make training manuals.
That was just the start of a wonderful adventure with God in my career or professional life. The things that happened next to me in the years that followed were all miracles from God and a result of His grace.
It all started with a dream to have a job in the training department of the fast food restaurant where I first worked. But God was not content in simply fulfilling that small dream that I had for myself. He pushed me out of the first company I joined so I could grow and be fit for the much bigger dreams that He had for me.
I was eventually hired as Training Officer of bigger companies, including a multinational company where I grew exponentially in many aspects. It was during my employment in this company that my dream of being able to travel to different places was fulfilled. I conducted trainings locally and abroad. I developed training modules which were used in our branches in the Philippines and in the Asian region.
From Training Officer, I was promoted to Training Manager. I was very happy already with what I had achieved by the grace of God. But God had bigger plans for me.
I was hired by another company to be their HR Manager again, mainly because of my potential and my value system. After that, I was hired in another big company where my dreams of having my own vehicle and being paid a specific amount as compensation were realized.
I couldn’t help but feel so blessed as I look back at my growth as a professional. There are still a lot of times when I just stand in awe of God as I thank Him for making all these things possible in my life. I know deep in my heart that I would not have all these achievements if not for His grace and His help; especially since my educational background was not related to human resources management, but hotel and restaurant administration.
What amazes me even more now is that I have already realized my dream of becoming a freelance Management and HR Consultant. The timing is also perfect for me to finally live out my dream. I stopped working full time shortly after I got married and at the beginning of my first pregnancy. From someone who simply dreamed of having a job in training, now I get to choose the HR projects I work on.
I praise and thank God for helping me to keep on moving forward and achieving my goals. I praise and thank Him for prospering me and my family through the work of my hands over the years. I praise and thank Him for the grace to believe in Him, in His Word and in my god-given gifts. I praise and thank Him for the grace to step out with courage and hope every time He pushed me out of my comfort zone and asked me to stretch beyond my perceived limits. I praise and thank Him for all the doors of opportunities He has opened for me through the years until now that I’m not only a freelance Consultant but also an author and freelance writer.
I did not achieve my dream or my goals without challenges or difficulties. The truth is I had plenty of them. I think those were the reasons that made every achievement and victory much sweeter. I can’t help but point to God every time I’m asked to tell my story because I would not be where I am now if not for His amazing grace.
So let me end my sharing by encouraging you, dear reader, not to be afraid to listen to God’s voice in your heart. Do not be afraid to follow His lead. His grace will be enough for you as He calls you to do new and bigger things. I can say this with conviction and know this to be true because I have experienced this truth in my life repeatedly. I pray that you, too, would find yourself to be in one amazing adventure with God. God bless!
Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag is the author of the book, When My Bridegroom Comes. She is also a writer and contributor to several publications. However, she says her primary titles these days are WIFE, MOM and GOD’S SERVANT. You can find her blogging over at Mommy Bares All.
