Meet Meredith Gregory
Meet Meredith Gregory
Most of the big decisions my husband and I have made have been related to career and family. Through our journey, God has been incredibly faithful in many ways. It started at the beginning of my career when God opened a door which allowed me to follow an unconventional path for someone with my education. I’m a Chemist by training, but I desired to go into chemical sales so I could bring solutions to customers. It’s difficult to jump into such a role at the beginning of one’s career, but I found myself getting hired for a sales training program with a small chemical company in Chicago. It was a great opportunity, but after about 6 months I became concerned the travel and other job requirements of an account manager would lead to overwork and limited time for my marriage and other relationships. I was not a mature Christian then, so prayer was not a big part of the decision-making. However, I was strong in my convictions and even though I risked unemployment, I decided not to continue in the program. Following that, God provided an opportunity with the same company as a Development Chemist. I was unsure about it, but it led to life changing experiences. It introduced me to project management and, most importantly, it resulted in my husband and I taking ownership of our faith thanks to the church we attended and our amazing small group.
A few years later, we lived in a new state and I had a new job. It didn’t take long to realize it was not a good fit. I wasn’t using my gifts so every day was a hard grind. We eventually moved to Houston. It took some time, but I found my dream job and to this day I’m still amazed I landed it. It was a marketing role with a chemical company that combined project management and market development. This too was a door God opened. It was a professional growth opportunity which became a spiritual growth opportunity. It stretched and challenged me; I learned a lot. But it came with a big cost – my work life balance. I was working long days and some on the weekends. Even when I wasn’t “working” my mind couldn’t rest and I think I hit true burnout in 1.5 years. I stopped working in the evenings and on weekends, but stress continued due to the high expectations of the corporate culture. During this time, I was introduced to Tim Keller and I started listening to his book Every Good Endeavor on my commute. It changed my overall perspective of work and introduced me to the concept of work as worship. Not only is our work how God provides for his creation, but we can worship God by creating order and structure with our work. We should seek to use our God-given skills through the work we choose and be competent. At the same time, rest is critically important.
I struggled with whether leaving this job was the right thing to do and prayed a lot. On one hand it was an opportunity to grow closer to God by giving my burdens and anxiety over to him. It also fit my skillset and I was very competent. On the other, it was monopolizing more time and energy than I was willing to sacrifice. Ultimately, I concluded the environment made it too tempting to overwork. But God began to opened another door. I was being recruited by contacts I made in my previous job for an opportunity at another company. After a lot of thought and prayer, I interviewed for and took that job knowing there would be some financial sacrifice in the long run. It has blessed us with the work life balance I need, enough so that we finally started a family. I’m thankful to say I’ve been with the company for 4 years and God has continued to be faithful through a lot of internal changes and uncertainty. I’m able to use my strengths as a way to cultivate and serve while still getting the rest and time with family I need.
A few years later, we lived in a new state and I had a new job. It didn’t take long to realize it was not a good fit. I wasn’t using my gifts so every day was a hard grind. We eventually moved to Houston. It took some time, but I found my dream job and to this day I’m still amazed I landed it. It was a marketing role with a chemical company that combined project management and market development. This too was a door God opened. It was a professional growth opportunity which became a spiritual growth opportunity. It stretched and challenged me; I learned a lot. But it came with a big cost – my work life balance. I was working long days and some on the weekends. Even when I wasn’t “working” my mind couldn’t rest and I think I hit true burnout in 1.5 years. I stopped working in the evenings and on weekends, but stress continued due to the high expectations of the corporate culture. During this time, I was introduced to Tim Keller and I started listening to his book Every Good Endeavor on my commute. It changed my overall perspective of work and introduced me to the concept of work as worship. Not only is our work how God provides for his creation, but we can worship God by creating order and structure with our work. We should seek to use our God-given skills through the work we choose and be competent. At the same time, rest is critically important.
I struggled with whether leaving this job was the right thing to do and prayed a lot. On one hand it was an opportunity to grow closer to God by giving my burdens and anxiety over to him. It also fit my skillset and I was very competent. On the other, it was monopolizing more time and energy than I was willing to sacrifice. Ultimately, I concluded the environment made it too tempting to overwork. But God began to opened another door. I was being recruited by contacts I made in my previous job for an opportunity at another company. After a lot of thought and prayer, I interviewed for and took that job knowing there would be some financial sacrifice in the long run. It has blessed us with the work life balance I need, enough so that we finally started a family. I’m thankful to say I’ve been with the company for 4 years and God has continued to be faithful through a lot of internal changes and uncertainty. I’m able to use my strengths as a way to cultivate and serve while still getting the rest and time with family I need.
Posted in Faces of Faith