Faith is one of those qualities that many of us say we have.
And, no, I'm not talking about faith in God or a Higher Power. Nor am I ruling it out.
This comes up in relation to TLC. It seems that we have a lot of employee turnover. And, of course, when someone quits or relapses we wonder what we're going to do. How will we replace them on such short notice?
Because those who quit usually don't give two weeks notice. Sometimes it's more like five minutes notice.
Yet over the years I've learned to have faith that the right person will show up. We just haven't met them yet - but they always show up.
It happened again this week. We lost a key manager who was in a sensitive job. Dealing with certain clients, especially treatment clients takes someone with a certain temperment. Patience. Wisdom. Tolerance. Strong recovery. Assertive, but not to the point of aggression. Filling this position had us concerned.
Yet, within 48 hours of looking around the program we found someone who meets our qualifications. And the person seems willing to the job.
Because working for TLC is not like a typical job with lots of benefits and a great salary. We give our staff enough to get by on. We provide housing, walk around money, dental and eye care.
But we give them something greater than material benefits. We give them a chance to save their lives. To live in a recovery environment while they add weeks, months and years to their recovery. Where they can work on their strengths and weaknesses.
There aren't too many places where one can work long term in a safe environment until they regain the confidence to once again fly on their own.
But that's why I have faith - the right one always shows up. And, for me, it's also a bit of trusting God.
