A Work-Life Balance 'Must-Read'

1. A ‘WORK-LIFE
BALANCE’
MUST-READ
... daybreak, Sunday morning, February 8, 2004
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who
sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in
me might not remain in darkness “. – John 12: 44-46
If you’ve ever felt like Jesus is ‘Asleep in
the Back of the Boat‘
in your life, please take the time to read
my TRUE story.
–Glenn J. Tiffin
p.s. -even if you’re not ‘religious’, you will
want to read this story > > .

2. To this very day, I still find verses in the Bible that continue to draw me back to ‘The Picture’, above. For instance, the
latest being John 5:35, regarding the extinguished lamp-post in front of the tree, above (referring to John the Baptist- the
‘messenger’, that foretold of Jesus-- so, appropriately, that lamp-post is in the foreground of the ‘trees of Calvary’. That
verse reads… ).
‘He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater
than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the
Father has sent me’. –John 5:35
‘Works’ I’ve experienced in my own life in February, 2004 (and later) have led me to write the following account …
My story starts at 1pm, Friday, February 6, 2004. My dad had passed away on Father’s Day, 1999, and my mom was living
alone in their house. As care-giver, I would grocery shop for my mom on Friday afternoons, but, on that afternoon I would
be selfish – being a sinner. I delayed my trip to the grocery store and, instead of eating lunch at my mom’s house (as I often
did), I decided instead to eat on my own at a ‘Bread Co.’ at the St. Louis Galleria. As I was eating, a worker there was
sweeping the floor and stopped at my table, ‘JUST SWEEPING’- it was awkward. He stayed there, right at my table, for the
longest time, just looking at the floor, and kept SWEEPING. He kept looking down, and I didn’t look up.
After I left, I thought, I should have said ‘Hi’ to that guy. Why didn’t I just ACKNOWLEDGE him? I was filled with regret,
and frankly, it never bothered me so much neglecting to simply just say ‘Hi’ to a stranger. > >

3. When I finally did complete my mom’s grocery shopping (and finally arrived at her house), God got there right before I
did. You see, when I arrived, my mom had a saucepan on the stove with the burner on ‘HI’. She was preparing lunch (was
probably waiting for me, as usual), but hadn’t yet put the soup in the saucepan. If I didn’t arrive when I did, the pot could
have melted down (and burned down the house).
After visiting with my mom, later that afternoon I had to pick up a textbook at UMSL (University of Missouri-St. Louis) for
a grad. school class I was taking through the UMR – Rolla extension. Upon leaving there, I was walking back to my car,
and heard a lady’s voice urgently calling from a distance, ‘Sir, sir !’. I looked up, and saw this woman running down a hill,
on a bike path, frantically waving and trying to get my attention.
I don’t know why, but the scene which instantly came to mind was Mary Magdalene running from the tomb, shouting ‘He
is Risen!’ – it was like a flash-back to a scene that was surreal. Was God positioning all the right people in the right
place, at exactly the right time? As I recount all of this – YES – but this is only the first part of the story – READ ON.
Anyway, when this African-American lady finally got to where I was stopped on my way back to my car, she asked me
if I had $1.50 to spare for MetroLink fare (later I found the station was just beyond the top of this hill). She said her
car broke down. Considering my earlier events of the day (and how I regretted not saying ‘Hi’ to the worker at the
Bread Co.), the money ‘flew’ out of my pocket for her, and I said ‘Glad to help’.
It struck me that she was ecstatic beyond what one would normally experience (again, surreal), and kept saying to me,
repeatedly, ‘Thank you, Jesus’, ‘Thank you, Jesus’. A feeling of humility came over me like I’ve never experienced in my
life – I can’t adequately express it into words. > >

4. This experience stayed with me all weekend. So much so, that something (no, someONE – God) compelled me to get out
of bed extra early that Sunday morning – something I would NEVER normally do. I took my camera with me – and I didn’t
even know why—and returned to the same location at UMSL where this had all taken place that Friday, to take ‘The
Picture’. As I was waiting for the sun to peak over this hill, I remember saying to myself, ‘Lord, let them see what YOU
want them to see’.
I don’t think I even realized that this sequence of events spanned from FRIDAY through SUNDAY – ‘Good Friday’ to
‘Resurrection’—until the 2nd half of my story was now to unfold…
In Spring of 2005, I was to fly from St. Louis to Atlanta, for an electric utility conference there, but, instead of a direct flight
to Atlanta, I booked a flight to Nashville, and decided to rent a car and drive from Nashville to Atlanta. I can’t recall if the
airfare + rental car was cheaper at the time to do that, or what, but I would later find – as should be no surprise by now,
that, with God being in control- there was a larger purpose behind this ‘decision’. Again, as I look back on it 10+ years
later now, I was urged to make that ‘decision’ (but had no idea why at the time).
When I boarded the plane, there was an entire U.S. military battalion already seated in the rear-half of this plane,
dressed in their fatigues, and just returning on leave from Iraq, on a connection from St. Louis to home in Nashville. My
seat assignment? As I walked down the center aisle looking for my seat, it was next to (as I would later find after we
introduced ourselves for the first time) a Lt. Col. Daniel Gall, Sustainment Brigade, Q-West, Iraq. The first thing I noticed
after I found my open seat next to him, was a copy of the ‘New Testament’ on his lap. > >

5. We chatted, about how he and his chaplain saw so much hurt (war trauma, PTSD and debilitating emotional scarring
of their regiment due to the toll being in action takes). I was never in the military myself, so do not pretend to even
faintly understand. I just listened. If it’s not a comrade killed right next to that soldier (and the survivor left to
somehow carry on), it’s the monumental challenge to forgive and be forgiven, and it’s the monumental challenge to
get over the grief of a killing of another on the enemy side, or even worse, a friendly fire, or civilian loss of life event.
Daniel Gall and I got around to talking about ‘The Picture’, and I left him my business card before everyone
disembarked from that plane in Nashville. He later emailed me, reminding me not to forget to email it to him, which
I of course, did. When he received it, he replied to my email with the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard written
about what he saw in ‘The Picture’*. His conclusion? ‘God is at work’. AMEN.
___________
*p.s. – That email from Daniel, ‘Greetings from Iraq’ , I will later try to retrieve and update this account with – God
willing.
-Glenn J. Tiffin