Polly's Story

By Polly Harder

[This is the fascinating story Polly Harder told me when I met her in Atlanta at the Christian Booksellers Tradeshow (July, 2007). Check out her book Don't Be Afraid]----David Hobbs

In 1983 God started to talk to me about starting the non-profit ministry I'm the president of today. He talked to me for 5 years about it, but never released me to do it.
Then one day, while I was praying, sitting at my desk at the company I owned, God said, "Polly, I will make this company more successful than you have ever dreamed... or you can do My work."
Naturally I thought it was the ministry He had been telling me about for the past 5 years, so I said, "Lord, I want to do Your work."
He then said, "Close the doors!"
(I had been in business in Dallas for 3 1/2 years at this time doing sales around $300,000 a year.) I walked out of my office, told my staff I was finally going into ministry, and I would give them 30 days pay, but as of Friday we were no more. It was Wednesday. So I packed up the office and Sat. a.m. the movers moved me out. By faith, in three days I had closed down what God and I had built in 3 1/2 years.
I wish I could report God released me to do the ministry. However, two months passed, and I thought, “I need to go back to work.” I also thought I must have missed God somehow. By now many companies were contacting me, wanting me to come to work for them. I told God to close every door that wasn't from Him. A few days later a friend of mine, who was a recruiter, called me and said there was a new communication company that had opened. They were looking for all levels of management. She had told them about me, and they wanted to see me right away. I called and they set up an appointment.
They hired me on the spot, offered me more money & the highest level of management. I didn't feel released to accept the offer, mainly because they were open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, I might have to work graveyard, Sundays, holidays…. Can you imagine these changes after having the freedom of calling all the shots?
I went home and my sister asked about the interview. I told her what happened and she asked, "What are you going to do."
At that moment I heard these words coming out of my mouth: "I'm going to take it of course."
We both looked surprised because we knew Who had done the talking. The Lord also told me He wanted me to take the lowest entry level management position they had. So I started work making 1/3 of the income I was used to. Thank God I was debt free, except for the mortgage.
I discovered they had over 1,000 employees that I had access to. Because they weren't union, they treated their employees great. Anytime there was counseling needed, they used two people, usually male and female. After a short while, I realized I was the female that was getting called into all these counseling sessions. And even though it wasn't my role to take charge, the other counselor usually said nothing after we sat down with the counselee. So, leader that I am, I would ask the one in trouble what happened. After they told me their side of the story, I would say to the other manager, “Go find their file and bring it here." Once they left the room, the Holy Spirit would have me say one of two things to these people: "Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?" Or "Do you have a church home?"
Every time they would look at me for a few seconds, stunned, and then start crying--men and women alike. The response was usually the same, "I know the Lord is dealing with me.” Or "I know I'm not living right, etc."
We would then talk about the things of God. But the last thing I always shared with them, before the other manager returned, was this: "Listen, God told me He would make the company I owned more successful than I could ever imagine or I could do His work. I chose to do His work and He sent me here… for you! Now if He would interrupt my life so I would be here at this time just to tell you how much He loves you, wants to have a relationship with you, and about His wonderful plan for your life--don't you think you should consider getting your life right with Him?" They all agreed.
The amazing thing was, it didn't matter whether the other manager was gone for ten minutes or forty, it was always exactly the right amount of time for God to speak to them. When the manager returned I would tell the employee that I would take care of their file if they would take care of what we had discussed.
I was at that company for five years. The President called me in four times to tell me they were promoting me and would pay me X-amount of thousands of dollars more a year. But every time they promoted me, I knew it was because there were people in the new department that were ready to hear about the Lord.
Several months after I reached the highest level of management, I was in the board room for one of our meetings. The President finished the meeting. Then all of a sudden he said, "Everybody sit back down. I have a question, and actually everyone in this room probably has the same question. This question is for you Polly. We want to know how you can take our worst employees into a room and regardless of the amount of time you have with them, when they come out they become our best employees. What do you say to them?"
Naturally, the moment he said the question was for me, I was praying in the Holy Ghost for the answer. The Lord told me to say this: "I don't think it's as much what I say to them as it is I let them know Someone really cares."
Now the president was born again, but not spirit filled. I just kept looking at him and he kept looking at me. About 30 seconds passed. Finally I saw his eyes light up. I knew he knew Who it was I was talking about. He nodded his head and said "OK then, you're all dismissed.” The interesting thing was, company policy required two people to be in all counseling sessions. But from that time on, whenever anyone was tough to handle, the president would tell the other managers to bring the employee to my office and then leave. (Needless to say, it was against company policy to talk to the employees about religion.)
Then, one day, God told me my time was up. I gave notice and while I was driving off the parking lot my last day, God started talking to me about starting Jordan House--the non-profit ministry that is in both TX. and Nevada that I have operated now for the past 14 years.
However, those appointed times have never stopped. I can be in a restaurant or grocery store and God will point someone out to me and tell me He has a word for them. So I go up to them and say, "Excuse me, God has a word for you. Would you like to hear it?" No one has ever turned me down; and one time the word turned out to be for a man who afterwards told me he was the Sr. Pastor at a big Baptist Church in downtown FT. Worth. Is God amazing or what?
There is no better feeling than when we've been obedient and get to be used by God!

Google Polly or click on http://www.communicationforlife.net/biography.html for a brief bio.