Tags
God, life, work, Workishness
It’s a blessing and it’s a curse – looking young for my age. I know that I will appreciate it one day – or so I am told – when I’m older and find myself flattered at being carded when there hasn’t been a need for a very long time. But at the moment, it’s just a little aggravating when people assume that I’m far younger than I actually am. It’s not just my youthful face that makes people assume I’m barely in my twenties. It’s my voice, too. A light airy soprano, that’s me and it definitely comes out when I’m on the phone at work. There’s a reason why people call me “Honey” and “Sweetie” with a tone that makes me wonder if I’m being patted over the head on the telephone line. It’s not the most conducive to trying to get people to pay their bills on time. I sound just about as intimidating as a kitten, I imagine.
(Although I am told that when I’m mad and get that tone in my voice, I can be quite frightening to the people that matter most in my life. AKA, my husband when he doesn’t know what’s pushed me past cute to crazy!)
There are people with gruffer voices that probably could get better results than me, but this is my job and I do the best that I can. The one thing I do have going for me is using the “Please pay so I don’t get in trouble with my supervisor!” tone to my advantage for any sympathetic ears that might fall prey to my youthfulness. That andpersistence. I can be quite persistent and annoying. What was it the parable of the widow and the judge that Jesus once told? She annoyed him so much with her constant requests that he finally gave in just so she would go away.
(I never quite like that image – God wants us to pray so often that He gets tired of asking for the same thing over and over and over again and only then grants our request? I guess I should just let go of the picture of an annoyed figure of authority and remind myself of the point: persistence in our request, even if it doesn’t seem like we’re getting an answer.)
In any case, I’m being persistent.