Inspire, Spring 2005

Inspire 23 Groceries and God Moments T i m F i l l e r ’ 8 1 G od Moments,” as some call them, are those times in life when something happens or someone crosses your path for reasons not immediately clear, only to turn out to be incredibly significant later on. For Tim Filler ’81, those “God Moments” have left significant marks on his life and career. As a youth, Tim’s first job was in the grocery business. After graduating from Cedarville, he continued working as a youth pastor and school administrator at the church in which he and his wife, Sherry (Kreidler) ’81, had been serving during their senior year of college. Tim recalled, “I had many opportunities there to teach both children and teens the Word of God. As a result, I decided to pursue further training at seminary.” While in Grand Rapids, Michigan for seminary, Tim took up a job in a grocery store. He admits the grocery store job wasn’t what he wanted to do, but he still saw it as the Lord’s provision. He remarked, “While attending seminary, the Lord provided many opportunities, both to teach God’s Word at church and to learn about customer relations at work.” After seminary, Tim served in his home church while supporting his family through supervisory positions in the grocery business. “These experiences not only developed my managerial skills, but also gave me an excellent overview of human resources, accounting, sales and marketing, purchasing, and customer relations,” Tim said. All was going well until the grocery chain went through a major restructuring, causing many of the employees, including Tim, to be laid off. “Our family’s desire was to stay in Grand Rapids and continue to serve in our church, but the Lord had other plans,” stated Tim. “God clearly provided a job for me in the grocery business — this time in Indianapolis. When the man who was in the process of rejecting my application was out of town and his boss hired me on the spot, I knew only the Lord could make those arrangements.” Once again the Lord provided opportunities for Tim to further develop his skills in customer relations, purchasing, marketing, and project management. However, he was also given the opportunity to continue sharpening his teaching ability through his church’s Word of Life Olympian Club. While Tim was content overall, something was amiss. Then came a “God Moment.” An unsaved man at work asked Tim, “What would it take for you to feel a sense of satisfaction at work at the end of the day?” As Tim pondered that question, a Word of Life missionary in his church asked if he would pray about a customer service manager position at their facility in Schroon Lake, New York. “The Lord impressed on my heart that this has meaning for eternity!” Tim noted. “It was more than figuring out how to get another few cans into each customer’s grocery cart. This would help impact youth all over the country as it had in our church.” Tim said the Lord opened every door with clear direction. “One door that He opened was especially remarkable,” Tim explained. “Sherry and I determined that if the Lord wanted us in Schroon Lake, He would provide an affordable home that was big enough for us and our three boys. At the end of our second trip to the area, we had not found a home we could afford. But on the evening before heading back home discouraged, a man called and offered to sell us his very nice home — which was not for sale at the time — and to lower the fair market value significantly! What an answer to prayer!” The Fillers have been at Word of Life for almost six years and are thankful for the many experiences the Lord has allowed them to enjoy. “Personally, I find it has been wonderful to raise our boys in a small town with small-town values,” Tim said. “Professionally, all those years in the grocery business did not go to waste, nor the many teaching opportunities at church. They have prepared me to now serve the Lord in so many ways here at Word of Life, from customer service to purchasing to curriculum development. The Lord has blessed in a wonderful way! Every day has significance!” Tim and his family reside in Schroon Lake, New York. Tim may be reached via email at timf@wol.org . Tim ’81 and Sherry Kreidler Filler ’81 with their sons Joshua (17), Drew (14), and Matthew (11) “