Article March 2, 2009 Issue

TO FIND A RIGHT POSITION

BY JEFF CLEMENTS

SOME YEARS AGO, RIGHT OUT of college and before beginning my business career, I spent a few years teaching school. I decided to get a master's degree in elementary education, which included getting my teaching certification. As I was graduating that June, I was told that I should expect an easy time finding a job, since I'd done well academically and schools were in need of male teachers.

I'd been used to listening to God for guidance in all areas of my life. But in this case, I did very little to pray to find the right position. I simply jumped into the interviewing process. As interviews came and went, and the summer started to wind down, I was still without a job offer.

In a panic, I called a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful help. She recommended I spend that late-August morning at the Christian Science Reading Room, and suggested an article for me to read and pray with. The article pointed out the spiritually mental nature of a position, a word that can mean to take a stand on an issue or develop a point of view. It spoke of how we each occupy our right place or position by virtue of our relationship to divine Mind—our unity with God. The article highlighted the importance of taking all aspects of "position" out of the realm of human opinions, and shared the idea that advancement or success comes in the proportion that one holds on to spiritual truths in thought. It helped me affirm that as God's child, I was always in my right place. I began to realize the importance unselfish motives and persistent prayer for the work I hoped to do. And I saw more clearly that as God's witness, I could expect only goodness and blessings to flow through my lifework.