The year 2021 was an abnormal year for most. COVID-19 was prevailing, workplaces were trying to keep up with protocols to keep their workers and customers safe, and masks were still recommended nearly wherever you went. Life was still off, gloomy. Depression was on the rise, and the societal side effects of COVID were starting to show.
But as others continued to desperately find their way back in a post-pandemic world, Ken Kojis saw an opportunity to pave his own way.
“In 2021, I felt like I was behind in life," he says. "I needed to catch up to my peers. I was trying to rush ahead in my career and made decisions that were not godly. I went against how God was directing me because I wanted to take control of my own life. I felt like I had to make my own way in life and my own money, because the way that people told me how God works, wasn’t working for me. I turned away from Him and was incredibly angry.
In 2021, Ken was experiencing a season of extreme hurry. “I hustled my way into a warehouse job, with resentment towards God’s direction for me. I felt like I left-turned away from whatever He had in store for me. I was angry at Him and just wanted to make money. I took the warehouse job because it was good pay.”
At RiverGlen Christian Church, our message series Ruthless Elimination of Hurry talks about hurry. In fact, there's actually a diagnosis for constant hurry... it's called hurry sickness. Ken definitely feels like he could relate to a lot of the points made in this message series. “I always felt like I didn't have enough time. Just because of how my life was turned up to 11. I fell through with responsibilities when I had hurry sickness. I'd say I’m going to do something and then I would never fully commit because I was rushing around at 110%.”
Ken admitted back then that he was struggling with something. But It wasn’t until Ken started to pray to God that he acknowledged it was hurry sickness. “My prayer life would be staring at the sky and asking God to stop me if I was going in the wrong direction, because I wasn’t going to stop myself, and I just needed to have Him intervene. I felt like I had no other way to stop other than God stopping me.”
Ken knew he couldn't do it on his own. He had become a victim of his own hurry. “I felt like I had to constantly hustle and I wanted the monetary gain to be my success and not the success of God. When I was working my warehouse job I felt like I was catching up to my peers. I would say short term if fulfilled me, I enjoyed what I was doing at the job and had some type of gratification.”
For Ken, God’s answer to his prayers came in an unexpected form. On April 15, 2021, Ken had a workplace accident that resulted in his life being changed forever. “April 15 2021, I had my accident. The coming to God moment was when I was pinned, I looked up to the ceiling and my first words were “Oh my God.” Then it hit me. Oh God, Oh no. I realized that in that moment if I died, I was going to heaven... This was the start of something new.”
April 15 brought Ken to a complete stop in life. It started a long road to a slow recovery. Ken found himself with a shifted view on life, hurry, and God. “When I asked God to stop me, I asked him to redirect my path. I prayed for him to physically stop me. When my ankle was taken away, I realized that I loved being active. And I knew that this was his way to redirect my path, to really listen, to slow down, and stop hurrying to the next thing.”
Ken found himself hitting highs and lows through his season of recovery. He had to relearn how to walk, first without a prosthetic, then with one. But through it all, he persevered with a joyfully optimistic attitude. Some would say, there was something different about him. “The accident has forced me to be more present and care more about my faith. Now I understand the power of God and his love for me. It has made me learn the value of living in the moment and letting him determine my path for his glory.”
tell you that he still sometimes struggles with hurry sickness. “I still struggle with hustle and hurry. I’m still learning this lesson today, through my relationships, my family, and my career.”
But Ken now has hope. “No matter where your life is headed, no matter the ups or downs, God is in control. He has got the best direction for you. I feel like I have more trust in His path and direction now. No matter how dark the path is, we can rely on our peers, our family, our church, and the bible to light our way.”
God really does work in amazing ways, doesn’t He?