Confessions of a Sales Associate

Thanks to Mikaela McIntosh for this guest post in the Finding God at Work series on how she discovered God in a job she never wanted.

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Growing up, my brother and I promised each other that we would never work at a restaurant or in retail. I’m zero for two now, so when I got hired as a sales associate, all of my pride had to take the back seat.

It’s funny how thankful I was when God gave me the job, grateful that I could pay my bills, but after I’d worked there for a while it got boring. And that’s what retail has been for me—mundane—checking out customers, taking phone calls, stocking shelves. It feels like going in circles. But I’ve found that God can be present even in midst of boring jobs…

During one an afternoon shift, a woman checked out with her daughter. The girl gripped a white capital letter A. She examined it, ran her finger along it’s side, and then placed it flat on the counter. The mother piled up her purchases in front of me and reached into her purse.

As I began to check them out, the mother pushed the letter A to the side and told me she would not be purchasing it.

“But Mommy, why?” the daughter pleaded. “I can fix it.”

The girl picked up the letter, trying to convince her mother.

“Sweetheart. It doesn’t match anything in your room. Plus it’s damaged.”

I could see the chip on it’s upper side.

“Mom, I can paint it. I can fix it,” she pleaded.

“We’re going to another store and we can get a better one there.” The mom took the letter and pushed it off to the side again.

“She’s going to get you a better one,” I chimed in, trying to diffuse the situation.

“But Mom, I want this one!”

Her mother nodded at me to complete the check out. As they headed toward the exit, the daughter continued to whine and I picked up the letter with its white, chipped surface. 

“This will preach,” I said. “This will preach.” 

My co-worker, rehanging clothes, shot me a look of confusion. I held the damaged letter passing it from one hand to the other. “This could preach.” 

Too often I want the damaged item in my hands, instead of the good God has in store for me. I hold onto the broken pieces, instead of looking forward to what God sees down the line. The mother I checked out knew that she could find something better for her child and the same is true of God, our Father. 

As Jesus said, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11, italics added). 

Sometimes retail work feels more like the stone Jesus talked about than the bread. I never wanted to be a sales associate, but it’s the job God gave me for the last two years and his gifts are good. So, I’m learning to trust him and beginning to see that he’s present in the smallest and most mundane parts of my job—even in a broken letter A. 

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Mikaela “Laide Mak” McIntosh is an editor and reporter for Wadeoradio.com. She can also be heard on the Wade-O Radio Show. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Mass Media from Valdosta State University and a Master of Arts degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. You can follow her on Twitter @Mikaelalaidemak.