My son starts his first year of college this September, and it costs a lot of money to attend college!
Since last Christmas, we had an agreement that he needed to find a job this summer to help pay his upcoming bills.
Starting last January, we talked weekly about how his job-hunting was going.
“I’m working on it, Dad,” would be the reply. He searched out options, called on different stores and businesses in town. Found a few hopeful prospects, but nothing ever worked out.
Several months of fruitless job-searching passed. Finally, we’re to the end of May, and high school graduation is a week away. Still no job!
I could see in his mind that he felt his options were exhausted and that he didn’t know what to do. He had many teenager friends seeking jobs too, with no success.
So, we had a talk.
It was a strong healthy Christian Science talk about not giving into lack and pressing forward until the right idea is realized.
“There is always an answer!” I insisted. “Never give into lack or despair. They are lies. They are not true. And you are the one who must refuse to believe them.” I emphasized.
We talked about how God is the Employer of all workers, and God has a job for every worker. I explained that when we don’t see this as true, we must insist it is true, gain an understanding of why it is true, accept the truth wholeheartedly and act upon it until it is demonstrated. And the spiritual truth is that we live in a divine economy where balance prevails. There is a worker for every job and a job for every worker.
We took inventory of all the businesses where he had applied. Then we took the blue-sky approach to opening thought to other options.
At this point, we were not thinking about what job he would like to have, or what job would be nice to have, or fun to do. Those points were irrelevant and basically selfish now. The need was to get a respectable job and be grateful for whatever opportunity was present to demonstrate usefulness and earn some money to pay for college.
A job possibility in agriculture came to mind. It would be hard work and a long commute, but Tyler was not afraid of either. He hadn’t found a job yet, and we wouldn’t get choosy and express ingratitude for opportunity ahead of time, we agreed. We’d keep an open mind.
He got psyched, and said he’d look into it.
And he did, promptly.
To Tyler’s delight, the boss’ immediate response was, “There’s always work around here!” Aw, Tyler had listened and the doors were opening.
The employer added, “Show up the day after school and we’ll see where we can use you.”
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| Tyler’s central “office” for his summer job. Love that shade… |
Tyler did as asked, and he’s flourishing in his new position. He’s working long hours, too, since it’s harvest time on the farm. He is now contributing substantially to his college expenses.
Dad is very happy!
We learned some valuable spiritual lessons together in his job search.
Don’t give up! Don’t give into suggestions of lack or deprivation. There is always an answer, and when no answer is apparent, expectation needs to press further and harder until one appears.
God has always provided ahead of time. The purpose of prayer is to sincerely open thought to God’s options, accept them and follow through.
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| Some of the “fruits” of his labor — clean spuds that will soon be Kettle Potato Chips |
That is a lovely post and interesting he is now working in agriculture, where you started. There has just been a happiness survey here in the UK and it turns out those working on the land are the happiest! But then being a CS practitioner wasn’t one of the surveyed jobs!!! I hope he continues to enjoy his studies and his job.
My son, Clifford, earned a scholarship to Cooper Union. A College devoted to the Arts and Sciences located in New York City, and it was free. My wife and I were handicapped at the time, but we both were praying as taught in Christian Science for our son to be accepted to the College of his choice. We all were happy to find out that all we had to pay for were his books which cost only $400 per year. We could never afford the high cost of tuition that many colleges were charging. What a demonstration of divine power!
Thank you so much for this splendid story of victory over “lack and despair” You are a wonderful coach, Evan, and Tyler’s choice to choose not to give up on spiritual answers is inspiring! I love potato chips and now after reading this story will love them even more. Happy college trails to Tyler and many thanks for sharing your story of Love’s infinite supply.
Great story. I’d add that I think it’s important to always remember that your employment is a built-in part of your spiritual identity as created by God, and it’s just a matter of awakening to this, not so much a seeking something outside of yourself.
My grandson, 18, and is headed for college on a partial scoloriship in wrestling. He was faced with the job search and decided, he likes kids and was going to a teaching college. He selected being a life guard at several pools. Additional responsibilites of teaching the swimmers for competition and working the events of active competition. He does well and the kids seem to love him because he expreeses his love and concern for them. It appears this is a turn-around for his values which he lost when living with another parent the past 4 years.
He believes in God’s thoughts although he is the product of another religion. God’s supply is universal for doing good.
After reading the lovely comments, I would like to give my thumbs-up to Tyler not only for how he opened his thought to God’s direction but also for where he’s working!
“HEY, TYLER, I LOVE KETTLE POTATO CHIPS. THEY’RE THE ONLY BRAND I BUY NOW. VINEGAR & SALT: YUM. SALT & PEPPER: YUM. I WAIT FOR SALES AND STOCK UP.”
SMILES!
I respect Tyler’s work ethic!