What would you do?

Walk through this scenario with me and tell me what you would do.

I currently have a part-time job. Hours are M-Th, 6 hours each day. I do some occasional Friday work as well, but for the most part, 24 hours a week. I get to see my husband out the door to work, the kids off to school and am home when they get home. I earn a pretty decent hourly wage and there is great flexibility for time off if needed. There are Christmas bonuses and other perks throughout the year.

My employer is a Christian man with strong family values and for the most part, good ethics. He is usually kind and matter of fact, but never harsh or angry. There are the normal pressures of work that at times overflow to me, but for the most part, he is very easy going and pleasant.

The negatives of this job is the nature of the business; life and health insurance. Not only that, but it is life and health insurance for seniors, so the majority of my work is talking to insurance companies and trying to straighten out Medicare induced fiascoes for the seniors. At times talking to the seniors is a task in itself. They are just as confused by all of this stuff as I am...even more so!!

There is nothing creative about this job. It is mainly paper work, answering phones, and talking to insurance companies. It is a dead end job. This is as exciting as it will get. This is as much potential for personal growth as I will ever experience with this agency. I have "arrived."

Now, take a look at the opportunity presented to me a week ago:

I received a phone call from a prestigious flower shop that I had inquired with a month prior. They asked if I would come in for an interview. I went to an interview on Tuesday. As part of the "audition" for the job, I had to design something (this is standard practice for this kind of gig), and mid-designing, they hired me as one of their designers on the spot! I told them I would have to give my two week notice with my current employer, at which they said they would be happy to work with me on that.

What excites me about this position is the possibility of growth and the nature of the business. It is an upscale flower shop and closer to my home by 15 minutes compared to the insurance agency. This shop also does trendy, and "high design" type of work, all of which they said they would be happy to teach me. They didn't mind that my skills have not been "updated" for many years, and again said that they would be more than happy to bring me up to speed. Employment there would even include a yearly floral design seminar, completely paid for by them.

The negatives of this job are that I would be starting out $3.00 less an hour than what I am currently making at the insurance office. However, this is only "temporary" according to the shop. Being the "newbie" my hours would include 3 Saturdays a month (which interferes with my church-going time) and I would have to work the later shift during the week which means I would not get off work until around 6 or 7 in the evening. I would be working about 30 hours a week; full-time during holidays.

All of these things I was willing to work with and figure I was paying my dues for the opportunity, until this weekend when I worked both Saturday and Sunday. I was given new insight into how this shop functions.

They are indeed very busy and do BEAUTIFUL work. I would be fortunate to learn and grow under their instruction. Their skills far surpass anything I can currently create. However, I'm not certain I could work with the owner.

Initially, "M" seems like a very nice person. She is very soft-spoken and kind to her customers, and has consistently been nice to me--maybe because we are nearly the same age. But it was an eye opener seeing how she treats her employees. I honestly think she may be bi-polar, or something of that nature. No kidding, it was as if I was watching Dr. Jekyll and Mr(s.) Hyde. If an employee asked her how she wanted something displayed, she was angry and complained that she had to tell them "everything". But, when someone took initiative and worked on their own, she went into a tirade about how it wasn't getting done right and complaining about how she had to do it all herself. The other really disturbing thing is that she publicly berates her husband in front of the staff and verbally abuses him. It was so disturbing to me that I literally was getting sick to my stomach.

I tried to read the non-verbal clues from the other employees to see if this was the "norm" or an anomaly. It seemed as if it was the norm. No one dared to say any contrary word, or even speak unless spoken to. Everyone seemed to be walking on egg shells. I'm certain the facade she holds up for me would fade quickly once I was there all the time.

So, this is my dilemma: Do I actually leave my non-creative, dead-end office job at the insurance company with a boss that is a Believer, kind and flexible, for the creative, potentially growth-producing (both personally and skill-wise) job with the unpredictable, verbally abusive owner, where I would be the only Believer in the shop and probably emotionally exhausted from the tension?

I still have a window to work in. As it is, I have not been replaced at the insurance office. We are beginning interviews later this week; and, I am only working on Saturdays at the flower shop until my full two weeks are up with my current employer, which will put us at November 16.

My head is in a swivet. Thoughts swirling about--confusion galore--is this from God? Where is He leading? Is this a matter of being light in the darkness? Of going out into the world and being salt? Of....okay enough cliches--But really, does this play into the decision? Is it time to get out of the comfort zone? Or should I take notice of the tears that ran down my cheeks as I came home from the flower shop the other day. Was this just disappointment? Was it due to exhaustion and working 7 days straight with no break in sight until day 13? Or was it clarity about what the actual work conditions will be at the flower shop and the emotional stress that would come with it?

So, again I ask, what would you do? I really would like to know. Currently I'm employed two places...which do I let go of? Let me know what you would do, and then I'll let you know what I did... (!)