This is an older post that I began writing one evening a week or two ago, and then fell asleep and never got back to. Hence, when it says things like I'll be leaving my current job in a couple of weeks, no, I'm not crazy, and yes, I know my last day is Friday.
One evening late in my mission, my companion and I were visiting the family of the Branch President in our area. Their family was just fantastic-imperfect, like all of us, to be sure, but they were giving it their best go, and you knew it just from being around them. As we left their home, I couldn't help but cry within myself, "I wish that I could teach a family like that!" We were in the midst of a drought of people to teach. Try as we might (and believe me, we did), we couldn't seem to get any kind of a progression from any of the people we taught. We soldiered on resolutely, and shortly after my companion was transferred, the Lord reached out his hand to help. Two of the most prepared, kindest, most wonderful people in the world seemed to just materialize out of nowhere, with a hunger in their souls, and a desire to do the right thing. Not only did we missionaries love them, but we found that they seemed to love us, in a way that I found pretty much incomprehensible. It was amazing. The Spirit would later testify to me that the Lord's placing them in our path, specifically, was a direct result of my prayers and the desire that I felt that night at the Branch President's home.
This was when I began to really understand: the Lord loves His children, and just like any loving father, our Heavenly Father does want to give us not only the things that we need, but the things that we really, really want. Insofar as they aren't bad for us, He will give them to us. Even in cases where they aren't good for us, He sometimes allows them to teach us a lesson (think about Joseph Smith and the 116 lost pages). Usually, I don't realize how merciful and kind these things are until after the fact.
For instance, about a week ago I accepted a summer internship opportunity with an engineering company in town. Literally the day that I accepted it, I started receiving calls and emails about resumes that I had been sending out for months before. This disturbed me somewhat at first, since I felt very strongly, both from my personal ideals, and from what I felt as I pondered it, that this was a job to take. Why, I wondered, would the Lord keep me from at least looking at all the options before I responded? A part of the answer came to me this evening as I was driving: it was what I had desired.
Let me sum up:
I love the job I have currently, and will be sad to leave it in a couple of weeks. However, a month or so ago, my supervisor's supervisor decided that we ought to begin a rotating Sunday schedule. Since I work for the Church, when I brought up my (legitimate) concerns about working on Sunday and/or missing all of my church meetings for work, my supervisor explained that the Brethren are aware of it, and it's the Lord's work to some degree. I could see his point of view, but I felt very strongly: I have never worked a Sunday for any job I've worked before, and I felt like now was not the time to start. The evening that the change was announced, I went home with this faith: if I would put forth my best effort to find another job where I wouldn't have to work Sundays, the Lord would make it possible for me to achieve my righteous desire.
At first, I was really excited, sending out a lot of resumes, sure I'd get a reply immediately. But I didn't. It seemed like I sent out dozens of them before I finally got a reply. Just one reply. That was all it took, though. Before I knew it, I had an offer on the table for a great position doing things I love. I was so excited that I didn't even think much of my earlier resolve. And then the calls and emails started pouring back in from all the other resumes. I didn't get it.
Until I was driving to my parents' house tonight: that's when it hit me. I start the new job May 7. The first Sunday I was scheduled to work at my current job: May 13 (the first Sunday after the job change). The Lord, as He often does, took me right to the edge to test my resolve, but in the end, it worked out. He is always aware--He knows the deepest yearnings of my heart and yours, and if we tell Him by word and by deed that we really want something, He's ready to help.
One evening late in my mission, my companion and I were visiting the family of the Branch President in our area. Their family was just fantastic-imperfect, like all of us, to be sure, but they were giving it their best go, and you knew it just from being around them. As we left their home, I couldn't help but cry within myself, "I wish that I could teach a family like that!" We were in the midst of a drought of people to teach. Try as we might (and believe me, we did), we couldn't seem to get any kind of a progression from any of the people we taught. We soldiered on resolutely, and shortly after my companion was transferred, the Lord reached out his hand to help. Two of the most prepared, kindest, most wonderful people in the world seemed to just materialize out of nowhere, with a hunger in their souls, and a desire to do the right thing. Not only did we missionaries love them, but we found that they seemed to love us, in a way that I found pretty much incomprehensible. It was amazing. The Spirit would later testify to me that the Lord's placing them in our path, specifically, was a direct result of my prayers and the desire that I felt that night at the Branch President's home.
This was when I began to really understand: the Lord loves His children, and just like any loving father, our Heavenly Father does want to give us not only the things that we need, but the things that we really, really want. Insofar as they aren't bad for us, He will give them to us. Even in cases where they aren't good for us, He sometimes allows them to teach us a lesson (think about Joseph Smith and the 116 lost pages). Usually, I don't realize how merciful and kind these things are until after the fact.
For instance, about a week ago I accepted a summer internship opportunity with an engineering company in town. Literally the day that I accepted it, I started receiving calls and emails about resumes that I had been sending out for months before. This disturbed me somewhat at first, since I felt very strongly, both from my personal ideals, and from what I felt as I pondered it, that this was a job to take. Why, I wondered, would the Lord keep me from at least looking at all the options before I responded? A part of the answer came to me this evening as I was driving: it was what I had desired.
Let me sum up:
I love the job I have currently, and will be sad to leave it in a couple of weeks. However, a month or so ago, my supervisor's supervisor decided that we ought to begin a rotating Sunday schedule. Since I work for the Church, when I brought up my (legitimate) concerns about working on Sunday and/or missing all of my church meetings for work, my supervisor explained that the Brethren are aware of it, and it's the Lord's work to some degree. I could see his point of view, but I felt very strongly: I have never worked a Sunday for any job I've worked before, and I felt like now was not the time to start. The evening that the change was announced, I went home with this faith: if I would put forth my best effort to find another job where I wouldn't have to work Sundays, the Lord would make it possible for me to achieve my righteous desire.
At first, I was really excited, sending out a lot of resumes, sure I'd get a reply immediately. But I didn't. It seemed like I sent out dozens of them before I finally got a reply. Just one reply. That was all it took, though. Before I knew it, I had an offer on the table for a great position doing things I love. I was so excited that I didn't even think much of my earlier resolve. And then the calls and emails started pouring back in from all the other resumes. I didn't get it.
Until I was driving to my parents' house tonight: that's when it hit me. I start the new job May 7. The first Sunday I was scheduled to work at my current job: May 13 (the first Sunday after the job change). The Lord, as He often does, took me right to the edge to test my resolve, but in the end, it worked out. He is always aware--He knows the deepest yearnings of my heart and yours, and if we tell Him by word and by deed that we really want something, He's ready to help.
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