Article June 19, 1995 Issue

Fired? How to turn it into a success

R. William Alderson

I Thought I was quite secure in my job. I had advanced from salesman to branch manager, to the home office in New York City. Then, after several months, I was fired. No problem, I thought—I had made lots of good contacts in related firms during that time, and I was confident they would be interested in me. Sure enough, I had several promising interviews, but no job offers. Soon I had plenty of time to study the Bible and Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, and to paint my house.

The truths in these books led me to feel God's presence—and then to glimpse my own spiritual identity as His child and the unlimited possibilities for my life. "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea," writes Mrs. Eddy (Science and Health, pp. 323-324). Also, "Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind ..." (ibid., p. 60). It became evident to me that I must turn my gaze in a new direction. I started reading the "help wanted" ads and discovered that a field in which I'd had a longtime interest was advertising for workers. I went for an interview and was hired.

A year later in my new job, I was much happier, much more successful. Ever since, when thinking about this experience, I remember what a disaster it would have been for me if I hadn't been fired! In my case, without something to break me out of the old mold I might not have so readily opened my eyes to a more spiritual view of my work. I would not have been receptive to this great new adventure. Isn't it comforting to know that even if we're asleep to the limitless good God has made available to us, His living presence is always compelling us to awake to His perfect direction?

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