One of the most frequent whines I heard from my three children when they were young involved secrets. More specifically, one of them would tell another one of them something they didn't want the third one to know and the third one would invariably find out that the other two knew something he or she didn't and would come to me and whine in a high-pitched voice, "Mooooommmmmm ... they are telling secrets, and that's not faaaaiiirrrr! Make them tell me, Mom ... it's not fair for them to keep secrets!!!" And without fail, those words were accompanied by substantial amounts of tears coursing down their rosy little cheeks and some quite significant stomping of their small sneaker-clad feet. Sometimes I think back to the days of raising my kids as a single mom and I think it's a wonder that I'm not crazier than I am. Here's a shout-out to those of you who are single parents today ... don't give up, because I promise you that one day the payoff will be something far sweeter than you can possibly even begin to imagine.
Over the years in my career as an editor, I've read millions of words. And a great deal of those words involve confidential subject matter, both in regard to clients and the companies where I've been employed. My first real job as an editor was for an engineering firm, and I hadn't been there very long when I was asked to be the lead person on the team that was responsible for reading the plans for nuclear power plants that were being built around the world. I will never forget the words of my supervisor when I asked why she chose me for the position ... "Because you are the best editor I've ever encountered, and because you understand and respect the necessity of complete confidentiality concerning the documents you will be reading." She didn't realize it, but my supervisor taught me two incredible lessons that day ... how vitally important it is to choose to work with people of integrity, and that trust is a gift that should always be respected, protected and honored. I've thought of Mary several times this week when the leaders of our company gave me documents containing confidential information to edit. They give me those types of documents to read because they know without a doubt that they can trust me implicitly to never reveal anything within them. They also know I'm the best of the best when it comes to editing ... just sayin'.
While I learned many years ago how important trust and integrity are in the workplace, I believe that some of the greatest lessons I've ever learned about trust and integrity on a personal level have come over the last year of my life. Some of those lessons have been hard ones to learn ... lessons learned from people I once trusted so deeply who decided we could no longer be friends. Some of the lessons have been kinder and easier ... lessons taught to me by those who have demonstrated their unconditional love and trustworthy character to me time and time and time again. I've come to understand in a way I never have before that I want to be the kind of person others can trust. I've learned that there is a trust that is forged through the fire ... trust that is sparked in the darkest of times ... trust that is strong and lasting and worthy. But the greatest thing ... the very, very, very greatest thing I've learned about trust in the last year? That God is always and forever worthy of my trust ... no matter whether my joy overflows or my despair threatens to overtake me ... He will never ever leave me or forsake me ... never, never ever.
There's an old saying ... you can't see the forest for the trees. Mum's the word ... trust me.
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