Article September 13, 2010 Issue

Guaranteed to bloom

BY KELLY MICHAELS

ONE DAY LAST SEPTEMBER, I SAT IN my home office pondering my life and wondering what God wanted me to do next.

Two years before that, I'd left a high-level executive job, which definitely felt like the right step, and started following a new plan. I was discouraged when that new plan didn't work out. So, I devoted more time to volunteering at church, helped with our church's Christian Science Reading Room relocation, and returned to a university for a yearlong professional program in editing. Once I'd earned my editing certificate, the world was experiencing a severe economic downturn and jobs were scarce. And again, I was back at that same desk in my home office wondering what to do.

At that time, I was grateful that my financial needs were met, but I felt like I was experiencing an identity crisis. I'd "grown up" in my former job, after having spent almost 20 years with the same company. It seemed to define my career and my personality, and I had a hard time letting go of that role.