Article April 5, 2004 Issue

I can be happy wherever God leads me

Prayer during a troubled job search brings unexpected insights.

By Veronica Mikkelsen

'I DON'T EVEN KNOW what I want!" I had only recently graduated from college. I knew my current job was coming to an end, and I needed to figure out the next step in my career. Maybe I could move to Vermont, maybe Florida, or southern California. Maybe I should just stay in northern California. Or move back to France or Norway where I'd lived before. What about Italy? I wanted all of it and none of it.

One night when I was feeling particularly frustrated by my inability to focus on a plan, it occurred to me to consider the concept of wanting. Another word for want is lack. I realized that than in asking myself repeatedly, What do I want? I was actually being afraid that I was or would be without whatever I needed. This kind of thinking was driving me crazy.

So I felt prompted to pray. And then this thought dawned on me: "Because I am God's child, I do not want or lack for anything."