Walking into any of our 13 locations, you will notice a sign in a prominent location that lists the core values of Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy. Note that the number one core value is “God Centered”. It is from this very core value that the other eleven flow. These values are not merely lip service. They are lived out in many ways concretely in this company through the servant leadership of the owners and management, the pursuit of excellent and compassionate patient care by the therapists and trainers, the advocacy of our front and back office staff, and the loving touch of our aides.
These core values are what drew me to this company a year ago. Reflecting on my experience, there are times in our lives when the movement of the Holy Spirit is soft and subtle, gently nudging us along the way. These promptings can easily be missed if we are not taking the time to still our spirit, listen, and respond. There are also times when the Spirit moves mightily where the sea is parted for us and we just need to walk through. It was just such a time that paved my way to Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy.
Leading up to this moment though was a culmination of much prayer, counsel, and discernment. I knew there was something special about this company 4 years ago when I first sat down with John Jepsen. On a sunny morning, I walked into the Caledonia office and was greeted in John’s typical California lingo, “Hey man, how’s it going dude?” What struck me that morning was John immediately initiated prayer asking for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. That moment planted a seed in my heart and while this was not the moment that I joined Hulst Jepsen, there was a profound impression left.
Fast forward 3 years and there was a stirring in my heart gnawing at me that a change was needed. I ran into John at a school event where our children attend. He asked me how things were going. Instead of my usual pat answer of “great”, I was moved to let him know of the restlessness in my spirit. Many more conversations ensued with a mixture of excitement, hope, consternation and anxiety on my end. When I finally came to a decision in my spirit to move on from my current job and excitedly called John to ask “when can I start?”, he replied “well we would love to have you, but there is nowhere to put you right now”. Questions, doubts flooded my mind. Did I discern incorrectly? Did God have a different plan? The weakness of my faith was apparent as anxiety washed over me.
In His mercy, God did not allow me to wallow long. Later that day, a phone call initiated the mighty movement of the Spirit. I distinctly remember John’s voice, “Dude, you’re not going to believe this! Twenty minutes after I got off the phone with you this morning, a PT who was supposed to start in a couple weeks just reneged his offer.” Cue Moses striking the staff on the ground. “He was supposed to start up in Greenville which is fairly close to you.” The waters trembled. “The manager there, Jen Kornowski, is a former classmate of yours and she would like to meet with you.” The sea was parted. All that was left for me to do was to simply move forward one step at a time looking neither to the right or the left for a “voice behind me said this is the way, walk in it.” (Is 30:21)
There were still some formalities, but ultimately that moment paved the way for coming on board to Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy and eventually opening the Lowell clinic. My God-centered journey has led me to Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy where I am now the center manager at the Lowell clinic and it is here that I am challenged on a daily basis to live out those core values as I love and serve my staff and patients in the Lowell community.
The center managers at all of the Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy location strive to serve their communities by living out the Hulst Jepsen core values every day. Learn more about Matt Schmitz and the ways he is serving the Lowell community here.