pickles and perspective

I came home yesterday from work absolutely tired and drained and in need of spiritual nourishment and encouragement. Not to sound too "Grove City"-ish but I'm starting to realize just how different (and incompatible) my worldview is with some of the people I work with. It's hard to be in an environment where the truth isn't valued (or even acknowledged as a real "thing")...where it's all about padding it or watering it down to soften the blow. If the truth is going to offend, then it's better not to say it at all. On the other hand, it's fine to say false things as long as you are "building the client's self esteem".
I told a young man yesterday in a client meeting that he was "in a pickle" (which he absolutely was)and later the employee who was shadowing me reprimanded me for not staying positive and using the "strengths-based model" of social work. I find myself mentally running into God's presence throughout the day as I work, begging for His joy and strength and grace. I feel like I'm going crazy sometimes because I am the only one who sees things the way I see them...for example if you need a driver's license in order to get a job but can't leave NYC to cross the border into New Jersey to take your driving test because your parole officer won't let you leave the city...you, my friend, are in a pickle. And I want to be able to tell you that. I want you to realize how sorry your state is, because maybe JUST MAYBE the way you've been doing things in the past HASN'T worked out for you. And maybe it's time for a change.
I spoke with one of my roommates yesterday and our conversation brought so much joy and life into my situation. I am grateful that though my job is difficult I get to come home to a house full of people who love the truth and point me to Jesus.
Last night, I read this in a book and want to share it here because it is just that good:
"More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ... I can then embrace my trials as friends and allow them to do God's good work in me." (p. 31-32, "A Gospel Primer for Christians" by Milton Vincent)
I have already begun to see the good that God is working in me through the frustrations I encounter at work. My thoughts, instead of wandering away from the Lord as they are so prone to do, run desperately to Him. The weariness I feel causes me to lean all the more on Him. And the lack of sympathetic co-workers at work makes the fellowship I have at home even sweeter.