Sunday, April 6, 2014

The Grace of Invisible Hands

Years ago, I watched a program on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) featuring Joseph Campbell, entitled The Power of Myth.  Campbell stated: “If we are on our right path, Invisible Hands will help us.”  In my own experience, this happens when we lead with our heart and soul.  This is not an ego thing; this is what makes our heart sing.  In fact, Campbell believed “If you’re using your ego, God seems cruel; but if you open your ego, let go, you’ll experience bliss.”  Let me share an example:

In the fall of 1989, while working for a software publisher in the Chicago area, I was given advance notice that my company was being sold.  I was grateful my boss had given me some time to seek another job.  Over a three-to-six-month period, however, I sent out 200 resumes, with no real response.  With over 20 years of professional experience, I quickly learned I was going to have a difficult time finding a job in the Chicago area since I did not have a degree.  I determined I needed to market myself in a new way – I needed to find a good company in a smaller community where there wasn’t such an abundance of degreed applicants.  I went to the library and did a great deal of research related to where I wanted to live, what kind of company I wanted to work for, and what I wanted to do.  I zeroed in on Flagstaff, AZ, and ordered their daily newspaper (no Internet yet), so I could keep current on job openings.  I also planned to fly there the day after my company closed in order to check out the surroundings.  I applied for jobs in Flagstaff but was specifically seeking employment with Gore & Associates, a medical products company known for their humanistic qualities.  In January of 1990, I applied for a Human Resources position and called periodically to check my status.  I was really concerned I wouldn’t have a chance for the job, though, because I couldn’t leave my current job until May 31st or I would forfeit my severance pay.  Each time I called Gore, it seemed the job-filling process had been delayed for some reason.  As time went on, I also continued to search the Chicago area.  In April, I received a call for a phone screen from Gore.  In the meantime, I had scheduled my flights to spend the first week of June in Flagstaff.  Sometime after the phone screen, I received a call from Gore asking if I could possibly be in Flagstaff the first week of June!  Amazing Grace!  After a second interview trip in July, I was offered the job!  I put my townhome on the market and by August 1st, I was heading to Arizona!

My friend Pam offered to make the drive from Chicago to Flagstaff with me—we had a fantastic three-day journey.  In fact, about 25 miles outside of Flagstaff, on Route 40, Pam said to me: “There’s the Flagstaff Peaks—your new home—how does it feel?”  I paused, looked at her and said: “I hope I’m making the right decision—I think I need a sign—maybe if I see a rainbow, I’ll know I’m doing the right thing.”  Within seconds, there was a huge rainbow in the sky – for the next three nights, the moon was encircled by a rainbow—a sight I had never seen before, nor since!

This whole process took many Invisible Hands that became obvious to me when all was said and done.  In fact, I remember at one point, after the second interview in Flagstaff - I literally sat in the middle of my kitchen floor with my head in my hands, having no idea if this job was going to come to fruition (I had just been told it was between one other applicant and me, a 50-50 chance!).  I had this feeling I had now placed everything in one basket called Flagstaff and possibly I hadn’t put enough energy in the local possibilities – what was I going to do if the Flagstaff position didn’t come through?  But, it did!

This is a special learning about God’s Grace, which requires growing in trust and faith while struggling through our human world.  I thank God often now because I always see His Invisible Hands at work in whatever I do.  We very often don’t realize all the help we’re getting from the Spirit world – I just know I’m very grateful for positively everything.

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