Testimony of Healing October 20, 1997 Issue

When I was in high school my mom placed notes with short,...

Douglas Brown

When I was in high school my mom placed notes with short, spiritual thoughts on the bathroom counter. One I remember helped me see that I didn't need to know the future or have a predetermined plan, but rather I needed to make the best decision I could and trust God, divine Love, to guide me. This idea helped me when I needed to find a summer job.

Before summer break in my freshman year at college, many classmates went home to find jobs before classes let out. I remember worrying that most of the jobs would be taken if I didn't rush home on weekends, too. But I stayed in school. I wanted to rely on divine Love to guide me in finding the right job. I knew I wasn't being lazy because I needed to be in school.

When I got home for the summer I took a job cleaning warehouses. It paid almost a dollar an hour above what I had heard most of my friends were making. As I swept the floors, however, I thought about this job in relation to why I was studying in college. I was studying in order to find fulfilling and enjoyable employment—not just so I could work for the most money. I began to feel that I needed to be honest by following now the purpose for working that I planned to have after graduation. If I wanted to find fulfilling work after college, I reasoned, I shouldn't compromise on my reasons for working now. I left the job and joined a friend on a water-skiing trip with the thought that if a right approach to employment is needed in four years (when I graduate), it is also something I can have now.

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