Spiritual Snapshot: PRAYER

Aaron and I teach the 4 and 5 year olds at church. Every Sunday is a new adventure. This Sunday, the lesson is on PRAYER. As I read the lesson it got me thinking about prayer and the effect it has had on my life in just the past couple of weeks.

This week I received a very distinct answer to prayer. My job had become a source of depression and stress for me. I wasn’t happy. The uncertainty due to restructuring and added responsibilities due to staff reduction measures was turning me into a not-so-happy person. However, I felt stuck. I have been very blessed to be able to work an almost full time schedule that is opposite of Aaron’s. Miles has always been with one of us. This truly has been a huge blessing and it is not something that I was or am willing to compromise. This makes finding a new job very difficult. Most employers want part-time (no more than 20 hours a week) or full time. There is not much that falls in the 30 hours a week category.

So I prayed. I prayed that Aaron would find a job that would make enough money that I wouldn’t have to work. I prayed that my essential oil business would take off and out of the blue start making enough to replace my income so I could stay home. What I didn’t pray for at the time was to find another career opportunity that would fit our schedule and salary requirements.

Well, prayer is a funny thing. In the Bible Dictionary of the King James Version of the Holy Bible that is published by the LDS church you find the following under PRAYER: “Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.” Of course being a stay-at-home mom is Heavenly Father’s will, right? My desires were righteous. I wanted nothing more than to be able to walk out of my current position one day into full-time mommy-hood. 

Well, it is really hard to know what our Heavenly Father’s will for our lives is. Our desires may be good. They may be righteous. But it may not be what He has in store for us. I started becoming even more depressed and started questioning the power of my faith. If I had enough faith, I wouldn’t have to work anymore. My prayer would be answered.

It took a really bad week at work for me to reevaluate my outlook. Heavenly Father put it into my heart at that time that I was asking for the wrong thing. It was time to start looking for another job. This wasn’t my ultimate goal, but my unhappiness was affecting my family life and my ability to be a mother. I had to do something. So I started applying for jobs.

 Out of the blue, a former coworker contacted me about a position that she thought I would be perfect for. It didn’t sound like it would work for me, but I sent her my resume to forward on to her friend who was looking. I went for a first interview and came away disappointed because it was a large decrease in pay as well as hours. I knew it wasn’t something we could do. The next day, the lady I interviewed with called and wanted to schedule an interview with the Executive Vice President (my former coworker’s friend). I told her that while I appreciated their interest, I just couldn’t make it work financially. She said that there may be some wiggle room if I was willing to compromise as well. She stated several times that Mr. Smith (name has been changed) really wanted to meet with me. So I agreed to meet with him in 2 days.

Those next two days were filled with prayer. But this time, it was me praying to understand Heavenly Father’s will; Asking for help in moving forward; Asking for guidance about this new opportunity. Long story short, I was offered the position for the salary and the hours that I needed. There was no hesitation in accepting their offer. Especially when he said the words “Family comes first in everything we do around here.” If I have to work, this is who I want to work for. The position is one that I am super excited about. I get to utilize a lot of skills and training that has lain dormant for a while. I get to do a job that involves where my heart lies and that I can be passionate about—almost as passionate as being a mommy.

Our Heavenly Father knows us. He hears our prayers and He answers them. The answers may not come in the way we expect or think we deserve or want…but they do come. I am so grateful for that knowledge. It is so easy to get discouraged when we feel like we are not being heard. This example is just one of many. But he does hear me. He loves me. And if I listen, my will slowly becomes swallowed up in His and I become closer to Him, and closer to my Savior.

What an amazing blessing prayer is!