“Anna,” she said with
a smile, “God loves you
and is a Great Father if
we trust ourselves to
Him.” She remembered
at the time that she tried
not to be offended at
such a direct statement.
Anna’s
Story
Thankfully, the seed
was sown in her heart.
On one of her few
Sundays off, Anna went
to a nearby church. She
dressed carefully and
arrived early enough to
pick a seat of her choice.
No one knew her here.
Gloria Pierre Dean
T
he feeling of despair in Anna’s mind was overwhelming. Despite obeying all the man-made rules
and complying with her managers, the office staff hated her.
‘It all seems so useless,’ she frequently cried to
herself.
As the supervisor, she oriented and mentored
new staff and assessed them after three months,
as was company policy. She was responsible for
terminating them too if that was necessary.
“Improve your productivity or leave,” she
would often say to the staff. “This is an insurance
company. We stand or fall by what you do and say”.
“Look the part and talk the talk “ was a favourite
line.
Each day she went home and wept. She hated
the job. Harry, her long-suffering husband would
comfort her, and he tried to get her to look at other
more enjoyable options of employment.
“What do you want to do in your heart?” he
would ask patiently. “Let us talk about this, love.”
When she and Harry �irst met, she had told him
of her dream to design clothes. But somewhere
along the line she had abandoned that dream
and was working in her current role. She often
questioned herself, “Is it worth it? I get up early
�ive days a week. I get to work on time. No one
likes me. I am hated.”
DOZ Magazine | June 2019
On some occasions, she had overheard bathroom
conversations, and her suspicion of what the staff
felt was justi�ied. But the business was prosperous,
so the owners loved her.
On one of her weekends, she went for a walk and
happened upon a bookstore. It seemed different.
Then she realised it was Christian. It was called
Manna House. She saw a DVD titled “Who am I?”
It was written by a Pastor who had been a lawyer.
He was so unhappy until he had a “Damascus
Road” experience in which he heard these words,
“who are you?”
Anna prayed the same prayer that the writer
prayed. “Father, what do you want me to do?” It
had been some time since she had prayed.
Soon after, Anna felt an urge to go to church.
She was desperate and felt that she might receive
comfort there. As a child, she had given her life
to the Lord. Her parents were believers and had
brought her up in the church. These days though,
she did not go to church except for weddings and
funerals.
What drew her closer still was fellow worker
Pam, who was a Christian. She was the only person
who was ever friendly.
6
She enjoyed the
singing and praise and
worship. Then came the sermon by Pastor Joel
Bidden. Strangely, the sermon was about vanity.
The pastor de�ined it as “ excessive pride in or
admiration of one’s appearance or achievements.”
The church seemed to spin as she sat there,
listening to him read out what appeared to be her
life story. Tears �lowed down her face.
“My company has asked if I can go to Zambia for a
few months.” She gasped and waited.
“It would be to survey a district and train young
engineers to design and dig wells with World
Vision. It would be for about six months. I want to
go but do not want to leave you alone, my dearest,”
said Harry.
“Oh, what joy! God is at work!” she sang as she
danced around the room.
So here was the answer, the work ethic that ruled
her life, drove away her friends, and made her
the most arrogant driver in the neighbourhood;
all seemed to stem from pride and vanity. She
decided to start reading the Bible. As she delved
further into The Word, she found that Solomon had
written many wise verses about many subjects.
This one impacted her deeply;
Using her skills and contacts, she got permission
to start a fashion design school. They were able to
safely ship the machinery before she left the US.
So, Anna and Harry went to Zambia with World
Vision. He did his job, and she opened her school.
When the six months was over, they had both
ful�illed their purpose. Her school was named
‘Christian Designers,’ and she was able to help
quite a few local young men and women.
“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was
gained under the sun.”
Clothes were being designed, created with
African fabrics, and exported at a pro�it. She was
happy to leave the school in the hands of two
competent designers who managed, created and
taught, and happily were Christians. The motto
was to design and export African clothes to local
and international clients.
As you can imagine, Anna’s life changed. She
spoke to the Pastor and rededicated her life to the
Lord. Over time with prayer and support, and the
wisdom she found in The Word, she learned how
to put God �irst and not work and success. Harry
was so pleased. Each morning they woke early and
studied The Word together and sang hymns.
Back home in the US, Anna was able to help the
company by importing and selling their products.
Thus, improving the economy of Zambian women.
This achievement gave her a sense of purpose and
peace.
One night she had a strange dream. In the dream
she was designing clothes in Zambia, of all places.
The next morning, she wrote down her dream. It
seemed so real. Imagine her surprise when at the
breakfast table, Harry spoke up and said hesitantly,
7
DOZ Magazine | June 2019