Page 85 of Let Me Hold You

“Amen.” Erika looked up. “It’s hard.”

“I know. Trust me, I know. My first year as an admin assistant was crazy. I carried around a resignation letter in case I needed to drop it on Tally’s desk,” Maggie recalled. “Tally wasan excellent boss—and she has now become my friend—but I tell you, the workload was overwhelming and I was so stressed out that I thought my hair was falling out. And I was only twenty-four years old.”

“That bad, huh.”

“Yeah. Then one day the Lord gave me an anchor verse that defined my new mindset to the whole pressure cooker. Matthew 5:16.”

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

“That means that all that I do, I do for the Lord. I do my best for the Lord, and my best needs to shine. No matter what the circumstances are, I have to glorify the Lord,” Maggie said. “Since I’m shining for the Lord, He will be my deliverer. If I am maligned, I look to the Lord. If I am defamed, I look to the Lord. If I am in the wrong, I ask God to forgive me and I correct it as soon as possible.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

Maggie chuckled. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said sorry to Tally because I messed up or didn’t understand the vendors we dealt with or something or other. Then she helped me clean up the mess. Over time, I got better as her assistant and then our ministry flourished, to the glory of God.”

Maggie missed Tally. Some people had told Maggie that it was rare for a former boss to become a good friend. In many ways, Tally was more like an older sister whom Maggie never had.

“Tally often reminded me not to take things personally. It took me a while to get it, but I finally learned. When I have work issues, that’s a work problem, not a personal attack on my personhood, you know? I have to look at it objectively so thatI don’t take everything personally, internalize the chaos, and crumble under pressure. You should see the Bible verses I taped everywhere to remind me to pray, pray, pray.”

Erika wiped her eyes and stopped crying. “I need an anchor verse. One or more.”

“Remember what I said earlier, that as a church worker, I must read my Bible and pray and wear the full armor of God? Ephesians 6:10-13 clearly outlined preparation for spiritual battles.”

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

“Did you even think the battle would be inside a church or a ministry?”

Erika shook her head.

“Neither did I when I first started working in a church. Sometimes the hardest people to deal with are other Christians,” Maggie said. “Ephesians 6:14-18 reminded me that I need God’s protection at all times, whether inside the church or outside the church. In this world, really.”

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will beable to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Maggie could feel the sun moving in the sky. How long had they been sitting in the van? She glanced at the dashboard clock. It was 5:35 p.m. Still, she didn’t consider it to be a waste of time. She knew that Erika needed this moment.

“I guess we better go get the boxes before the warehouse closes at six.” Maggie reached between the seats for her crossbody bag that contained her phone, tablet, and a slim credit card wallet.

It was the same teal bag that Levi had bought for her at the Christmas bazaar back in December. She had found this bag convenient and handy to carry around her whenever she went to meetings at or away from church.

Mom had the same bag, except hers was tangerine in color. Mom loved it too and carried it with her everywhere as well.

When she turned back to face the steering wheel, she was startled by a knock on her driver’s side window.

Levi stood there, a look of concern on his face. He was wearing a polo shirt with the church logo embroidered on it.

On the passenger side, Erika opened her door. “I’ll go sign out the boxes. You talk to your boyfriend. Thanks for driving the van here with me.”

“I’ll wait for you. Take your time. No worries.” Maggie smiled.

Maggie opened her driver’s side door and stepped out.

“How did you end up driving the van?” Levi reached for Maggie’s right hand. He touched her promise ring.

“They need to move some boxes from here to the Village, and I happen to have a meeting there today, so I volunteered to drive the church van so they can use it to haul the boxes.”

“Where did you park your car?”

“At church.”

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