What do you do if you don’t like your job?

With unemployment rising, thousands of people are finding themselves out of work and often accepting jobs they would not choose if better options were available. But they’re committed to supporting a family, keeping their debt down and pulling their weight, so they do what they have to do to keep their financial house in order and pray that career choices will improve over time.

So, does one have to suffer in the meantime, harbor discouragement, anger, and frustration about accepting a position they would not otherwise choose?

Absolutely not! It’s a time to grow spiritually and become a better person, employee and worker to prepare for a brighter tomorrow.

When I was a senior at Stanford, I couldn’t decide what job to take. None appealed to me. I settled for working on the family farm. At least it brought in an income, I decided. After a couple of years, though, I hated my job. I wanted out, but I couldn’t see where to go.

God said to me, “Be patient, until a clear path opens before you.” I obeyed, although it was a huge struggle at times. But my patience paid off.

Rather than agonizing over the job I didn’t like, I focused on becoming a more spiritually minded person. I worked on improving my attitude toward others, on being more joyful, wiser, and a better healer.

I spiritualized my work. Instead of picking apples, I harvested inspired ideas. Instead of pulling weeds, I yanked out bothersome ways of thinking. Instead of complaining, I looked for reasons to be grateful and rejoice.

It took three years, but eventually my thought got inspired enough to see a new job possibility that got me excited. The timing was perfect. I was ready to move, and I did. It was in God’s time, and not in Evan’s time. And it was one of the best changes I’ve ever made.

Divine Love provides for everyone. In Christian Science, we learn to hold the ideal at the forefront of our thought, but we often don’t reach that ideal in one step. It typically takes many steps to reach the final destination.

With the economy, we might have an ideal job firmly planted in our mind, but not see how it can be immediately realized. That is no reason to get discouraged and worried. If the ideal seems afar off, there is always a step in the right direction we can take, and with patience, patience, work, and more patience, step by step we outgrow the lesser and enter the more expansive. God’s law of progress guarantees it.