Pam Padgett ... teacher
While working as a computer programmer, I was assigned to lead a project
to replace an existing application. The business people who would use
the application had spent years getting approval for this project and
were looking forward to having the new application in place as soon as
possible now that it had been approved. My manager assigned just a
few people to work on it, but each of us had other assignments with higher priority. We were able to do very little on this project.
I learned that the management of the people who would use the
application were told only that people were assigned to work on it, but
not that we had higher priority assignments as well. So I spoke with my
manager multiple times making sure he was aware of how little was being
done on the project and how deceptive the reports being given were. He
did nothing to correct either the assignments nor the reports. When my
manager's boss told me how glad she was this project had been approved,
I told her of the problems. She did nothing. When the people who were
putting the reports together came to ask the status of the project, I
told them how little could be done and why. When I would later see the
reports they created, it was shocking to see how the information was
twisted.
The deception was very disturbing to me, and I kept trying to get the truth reported and prayed asking God for help.
One day I was told the vice-president of our area wanted to come discuss
this project. My manager told me he and his boss would be meeting
with the woman who would put together a presentation to be given
to the vice president. They would work on how they could present the
project so it looked like progress was being made. Amazingly, he asked
if I'd like to join the meeting. I told him I would provide accurate
information for the presentation, but wanted nothing to do with meeting
to present the information in a way that hid the truth.
Those of us assigned to work on the project were expected to be in the
meeting with the vice president where the presentation was to be given.
I kept crying out to God. One of my concerns was that I would start screaming when the presentation was given, and I prayed for help to handle this however God wanted it handled.
The day of the meeting I continued to pray, even as I was walking to the meeting, asking
God to please control my tongue and let me speak only what HE wanted
spoken. The meeting started with a copy of the presentation being handed to the vice president.
Surprisingly, he set the presentation aside and said he wanted to hear directly
from those working on the project. This is something I had
never seen happen in more than 20 years of working there. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Prov. 21:1)
I opened my
mouth and started telling the vice president what was really going on
with the project. The words that came from my mouth were very clear and direct. Nothing was left unsaid. Nothing was "sugar coated". (I believe God gave me words to speak) The others assigned to the project
shook their heads in agreement with what I said. My manager and the
woman who prepared the presentation came to the meeting thinking they would be in charge, but said nothing. They could not deny what was being said. After hearing what
was really happening with the project, the vice president took action based on the truth, directing my manager in what he should be doing.
It causes me to marvel in the power and wisdom of God to consider how
perfectly HE brought everything together in this, wonderfully answering my prayer, and bringing forth the truth
which others were trying to hide.