Why The Restroom Is The Come To Jesus Spot At A Crappy Job

I saw this poorly worded and misspelled meme on Instagram and it reminded me of my life less than a year ago.

My stomach was constantly in knots like clockwork, every night at 4 a.m. just two hours before my incomplete newscast. Not to mention, my gastrointestinal system was programmed to erupt by this hour due to my poor eating. Sorry for the additional information, but working 3rd shift can do a number on your body. I was on the verge of pure burnout mode and ready to walk away from it all. My nightly restroom visits provided an opportunity to escape from responsibility, increase procrastination and a direct release from bothersome colleagues. Just like the meme, I too contemplated resigning from my job to pursue senseless ambitions that would cast inevitable shame on my family.

Dancing Was An Option But God Told Me Not To Sell Myself Short.

Then I realized, I was okay with just getting by and allowed another year and a half of bathroom pity and long talks with Jesus about where my life was headed slip by. As I wrote in a blog earlier this month, it was that final trip to the restroom and moments of being fed up that I realized I deserved better. My bathroom prayer was answered.

Over the years at various jobs, I’ve encountered other colleagues in tears during their bathroom break on the verge of a mental breakdown because the job had gotten the best of them. Sexist managers, low pay, no lunch break (don’t get me started), terrible benefits and all-around bad treatment from the “powers that be” eventually gets old.

I jokingly posted the aforementioned meme on Facebook and clearly the company bathroom does have some sort of healing powers.

When you’re four, five seconds from wildin’ out at the job, it’s best to remove yourself and go to the bathroom. Some companies aren’t blessed with sanitary facilities so you maybe the type to hide out in your car. No matter the location, God is waiting there for you, as a gentle reminder that you have bills and don’t have enough money saved up to make bail in case you do finally explode on that one coworker that constantly tries you. Frequent trips to the restroom makes you appear to have a weak bladder, but you know it’s the one place where you find peace.

You clock in ready to go. You clock out hoping to never return. Fridays are your one happy day. Mondays are a tear fest. (I slowly died inside on Sunday nights) By Wednesday, you’re ready to end it all in a resignation letter. In today’s fast paced world, we spend more time at work than we do at home. There are two places where you should demand peace: on the job and at home. The trouble is, you are missing out on life counting down the hours when you can escape from a miserable job.

While it’s easy to say, “I’m going to quit”, you can’t call your phone company and pay them tomorrow in Monopoly money because the paychecks have ended. I get it. Making a major leap be it becoming an entrepreneur, switching industries, requesting a promotion or pursuing a higher paying gig often can seem unattainable. It took me months to even warm up to the idea of switching careers. You must craft a plan and stop hiding behind your dissatisfaction. You can continue convincing yourself things will get better, but can you afford to sit back and wait? What can you do to fix your current job situation? Are you the problem? Have you outgrown your position? What’s causing your heartache? Jumping from job to job is like entering into a revolving door of workplace unhappiness. And trying to make the best of a sinking ship isn’t worth the energy.

Do some soul searching and find your passion. Passion comes in the form of the thing(s) you are known to do with ease. It’s what you wake up every morning thinking about and can’t live without doing. Go. Find. Your. Passion. It may not pay a lot, but is your current job driving you in a lane far away from your desired destinaiton?

A mentor asked me last year what drives me to go to work everyday. What do I get from my job? My answer, “Rent. I go to work to pay my rent.” While that was my smart ass answer, hours later it hit me that I only worked everyday to pay bills. I no longer had a passion or desire to do what I was doing. I lived for my direct deposit. If you’re a driven individual, no amount of money can keep you from your God ordained destiny. You may not get to where you’re going immediately, but you will eventually arrive right on time.

The next time that you go to the bathroom, to your car or even that secret hideout spot in the utility closet, praying to Jesus to fix the problem, definitely ask for guidance then you need to either sh*t or get off the pot. There’s work to be done in your life and you’re sitting down on the job.

Before quitting his 9 to 5 and becoming a Hollywood director executive, Devon Franklin had bathroom talks too.

One morning when I got to the office, I felt frustration and depression overwhelming me. I escaped to a quiet bathroom and locked myself in a stall. Call it my emergency prayer closet, but that’s where I had it out with God. “You said I can come boldly before you. Well, here I am.…”

I took a deep breath. “God, I need you to move today,” I said. “I can’t keep living like this.”

That evening, my boss called me into his office to tell me it was time for me to move on. I was shocked, but I realized God had heard my prayer and had answered. After a series of unproductive interviews I decided it was time to quit and just step out in faith.

What Is Your Motivation?