Today I was promoted to Senior Software Engineer!

What can I say, but God is good? At my company, you start out on the “technical track” as Software Engineer, then next comes Staff Software Engineer, and then Senior. There are other positions after Senior, but it will be many years before I would even be considered for them.

The neat thing is, I have realized how much I have learned in my 6.5 years of professional software development since graduating college. I work at a great company with very intelligent coworkers. Many of them far exceed me in programming talent, skill, and understanding, and I have learned a lot from them.

It is therefore an honor to be given a promotion by my company that accurately recognizes the value of my work. Some people say titles are meaningless, and in some places they are, but when they really do reflect the underlying reality, they are very meaningful.

Another neat thing is that many coworkers who are also Senior Software Engineers have different areas of strength than I do. I could never match some of them in creativity or code output, but I have been given gifts by God to be good at helping other people and teaching others.

We need all kinds of these differently-gifted people to make our company successful and subsequently benefit the world through our products. The same is true in the Church. We, as members of Jesus’ body, have a wide spectrum of gifts, and all of us are needed to spread the faith and love of Christ to the world.

Hence, different lay people and priests have different gifts and different ecclesial movements and religious orders have different charisms. This is one example of the “unity in diversity” that the Holy Spirit has effected in the Christian faith.

I pray that our Lord will bless you in whatever work He has called you to, and give you the courage and faith to do it well and do it with love!