You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life. (Lamentations 3:58)
It’s 2014, so that means all year I’ll “celebrate” the 10-year anniversary of the year that was dedicated to the infamous project detailed in “Just Ask Me”. In January of 2004, I was told I was being put on a new Budgeting/Planning project headlined by a new product that was still very much in its infancy. I spent the rest of the month Googling “Income Statement”, “Balance Sheet”, and “Cash Flow Statement” and getting nowhere. I spent a day in February in a room with a CFO, controller, and seasoned accountants – all speaking a language completely foreign to me and yet I was supposed to be the product “expert”. I spent the rest of February struggling to find another consultant who could come along-side me to help light the way, but no one could be found. I was on a road to nowhere, over my head big time, and trust me, I knew it.
As I spiraled downward, on the other side of the pond in the UK, we had a new consultant joining the company, who as fate would have it would be the most knowledgeable Budgeting/Planning person I likely will ever know on this side of eternity. What a coincidence! Would he be willing to help me out? Better yet, would he be willing to fly out to the U.S. to dig me out of my misery? The answer thankfully turned out to be a resounding ‘yes’. Time and again for the rest of 2004, Steve was willing to hop on a plane and stay for a 2 or 3 week period, leaving behind his wife and children. He climbed alongside and suffered with me for those grueling days, teaching me the Budgeting/Planning ropes, and turned a project that was heading to a complete and utter disaster into a success.
Ten years later, I began the year learning that Steve was leaving the company. Shortly thereafter I also learned that I was being put on my first Budgeting/Planning project since that fateful year. I honestly wanted to cry. The months that followed were even more challenging than I expected, and worse yet, I didn’t have my mentor to lean on. Thankfully at some point in this latest trial, I realized that I’ll always have my ultimate mentor, Jesus Christ, available to lean on. The same wonderful Savior that dropped Steve out of the sky in 2004 was ever present to bail me out yet again, and sure enough He did. What a joy and a peace it is to know that He will always come to my rescue.