Having the Courage to Let God Transform Our Dreams

By Jenn Whitmer

God's Brave Women - Jenn's Story

I sat on the bumper of my van in the parking garage, angry and sobbing after a terrible meeting. That was the moment I realized — it was all over.

I said to my friend and colleague: "I don't fit in the culture anymore. He's going to fire me."

Dana said, "If you don't fit the culture, it's because conflict has destroyed this culture."

And she was right.

Unresolved conflict was the symptom of our team hiding and covering for an incompetent leader. For this story, we'll call him Chad. The toxic work environment utterly pummeled me. And yet, I stayed. I hung on. Until that very moment, dirt from the bumper smudging my navy blue dress, I still had hope it could be different.

Or at least, I thought I had hope.

I had placed my hope in me and my team, our abilities and processes — our sheer desire to make it better. I was like the Energizer Bunny—if I just kept going, it would be different.

What I really had? A wish.