Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them ~ Romans 12:6
A while back, I read the story of Oie Osterkamp in Inc. Magazine (September 2012). In a nutshell, he went from running a company that was envied as number 7 on the 2001 Inc. 500 to jobless, flat broke and divorced. It happened because he chose to make the right moral decision over the right business one.
How does one rise up from such strife? As Osterkamp relates in the Inc. article:
“I had no job, no prospects, nowhere to sleep,” he says. Camping in his former business partner’s extra bedroom, Osterkamp recalled his mother’s advice: “Whenever you feel bad, go serve somebody who has it worse than you.” So he started doing missions for his church…
The winds of life will take us in many directions – all are guided by God
If that were the end of the story, it would be sufficient. The underlying narrative would read like: “He was successful, lost it all and now he helps others”.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Osterkamp wrote and published an inspirational book called Being a Sharefish in a Selfish World.
He also founded Sharefish, an organization dedicated to making “a lasting impact, this small group created an organization to improve education, nutrition, housing, medical and economic opportunities in these impoverished communities.”
He remains president of Sharefish, but also has a steady income that allows him to continue to serve God’s will as Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House of Durham.
What draws me to this story so greatly is how much it parallels much of my own thinking. While I (thankfully) am not jobless nor have I experienced a dissolved marriage, I relate to the real narrative of Osterkamp’s story: how God uses your first and sometimes second and third act(s) of life to prepare you for the next one – one that is meaningful to God and His plans. One that enables God’s glory to shine through your personal work and achievements.
As Osterkamp says at the apt ending of the article, “I’ve gone from success to significance.”
That’s what I believe God is aiming to do with 1Glories.