Our Steps

In 1993, Julie and I were 28 years old. We had been married for 5 years and I had been working for Chubb in Atlanta for those 5 years. It wasn’t my plan to work for Chubb for the long haul because I wanted to settle down in one place and get on the sales side of the bond business. I picked a few different people in the industry that I respected and got some guidance with the various options that were available in Atlanta.

During my last two years at Chubb, I handled the state of Alabama and traveled there frequently. In the midst of having these career conversations in Atlanta, I had a regularly scheduled business meeting in Birmingham with McGriff, Seibels & Williams. Out of the blue, they asked me if I had any interest in speaking with them about an open position that they were trying to fill. They really didn’t have an active bond department but needed someone to re-start one.

The opportunity intrigued me because it was a chance to build something from the ground up. McGriff was a great company but floundered in the one area that happened to be my specialty. On the other hand, I had many concerns about the situation as well. Did we really want to move to Birmingham where I knew almost no one? Did I want to take a job that had already been offered to several other more experienced people who all turned it down? Shouldn’t I look for something more well established that I could just slide into in my home city and state?

The next week at church, I ran into Pete Lunati - one of the men that I really respected and sought advice from. I told him about the opportunity with McGriff and he looked me straight in the eyes without hesitating and said “Take the job!” He had great respect for McGriff and saw it as an opportunity that was too good to pass up. His reaction and advice had a great impact on me and I’m not sure that I would have taken the position it hadn’t been for him.

Did these things happen by chance? What if I hadn’t run into Pete Lunati at church? What if I hadn’t taken the job in Birmingham and taken another position in Atlanta instead? What if Catherine never met Paul; Will never met Kate; Emily never met William; Lauren never met…(well, not yet on that one - ha.)

It wasn’t by chance, of course, but by God’s providence. Julie and I were praying and seeking God’s guidance throughout all of this. That doesn’t mean that we always get a crystal clear answer from Him on things - which was quite true in this case. However, He does guide us if we will seek Him and listen to Him. Sometimes He shuts or opens doors, sometimes he speaks to us through other people and sometimes He just gives us a “peace” about a certain direction. But He does answer…

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

Life is full of choices. Sometimes when we are making them, we can’t comprehend the magnitude of how big the decisions really are. This was certainly the case with our move to Birmingham. There was no way that we could see how high the stakes really were and how many people would be impacted down the road. It’s so comforting to know that God will always “direct our steps” if we seek him and look for the answers He provides.

Thank you God for directing our steps to Birmingham and for all of our lives here together - (and thank you for your messenger - Pete Lunati.)

Stay Hungry,

Big E

Matt. 5:6