Parables in My Life

At Time out For Women, we were taught that the Lord teaches through parables. A parable is a story with a veiled deeper meaning. It "conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story,...to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven " (BD Parables) We were told to seek out and recognize the parables in our own lives.


A little over a year ago, Steven was feeling discouraged in his job search. He had graduated with his MBA in July, and he was ready to go back to work... but the dream job didn't appear to be coming. He had interviewed with several places for good jobs, and they had all chosen to go with someone else. He asked our home teacher for a blessing, and he was advised to be patient, and to branch out in his thinking. The blessing wasn't as comforting as we had hoped it would be.

In an attempt to "branch out", Steven started applying to jobs outside Denver. This brought a few more interviews, and we even thought for a week or so that we might be moving to Virginia, but it wasn't to be. Eventually we realized we couldn't afford to move even if he did find a good job elsewhere. At the very end of the year, Steven received an offer for a contract job - a temporary position that would last about a month. It was for a good company (MDC Holdings, the parent company for Richmond Homes), it would get him out of the house and bring in some much needed money. While it wasn't exactly what he was looking for, he decided to take it anyway. He enjoyed working there, and they liked him.

When the time of the contract was nearing a close, Steven found another contract job with another company (GHX), (which he didn't like at all, even though he worked there for four months) and after a short break in June, during which he moved furniture, he took on another contract job with Merrick (which was okay, but boring).

At the beginning of this month, he noticed that MDC Holdings had a job opening. He called his old boss there, submitted a resume, went in for an interviewed and received a job offer - all in the course of one week! He has been working there for a week and a half now, and seems to be enjoying the work so far. They keep him busy, anyway.

Is this experience a parable in my life? If so, what can I learn from it?

1. The Lord keeps his promises and what he tells us is truth - whether we like it or not. In the blessing Steven received, he was told to be patient. That was fourteen months ago. The Lord knew it would be a long time before Steven would find a permanent job that he would like. He was told to branch out in his thinking. Did this mean to look outside the Denver area as we thought? Apparently not. Did it mean that he should look into temp jobs and contract work? In hindsight, it seems the answer is yes. By accepting a temp job - even though it wasn't what he really wanted, Steven got his foot in the door of a company that he would really enjoy working for. Even then, it took a long time for that to bear fruit and for Steven to get the job that he has now.
2. We can (and should) trust in the Lord. In the Isaiah chapters I've been reading lately, the Lord was angry with the Israelites because even though they were the Lord's covenant, chosen people, they weren't keeping his commandments, they weren't turning to the Lord for help in times of trouble, but instead were relying on their own strength and wisdom. That's why the Lord let the Assyrians come and destroy them and carry them off into captivity. Steven and I have been striving to rely on the Lord, praying for guidance and support, and trying to be patient, and the Lord has blessed us. He has blessed us with the temporal things we needed from day to day, as well as spiritual strength and comfort at the times when we most needed them. Like the people of Alma the Elder in the land of Helam, he has eased our burdens and strengthened us. (See Mosiah 24:13-15)

I was frustrated last night. Wednesdays are early dismissal days at school, so the kids are all out by 2pm, instead of 3:30 as they usually are. Peter was having a bad day, screaming, crying, threatening to throw things at me. The kids were variously carving pumpkins, trying to figure out how to add sound to animated movies, avoiding doing homework and chores. By dinner time, I was utterly exhausted. Then Steven called to say he needed to work late, and to go ahead and have dinner without him, and we should probably find Hannah and John a ride to their activity that night (since we only have one car - and he has it). Joy.

This is Steven's dream job - working for a great company, with plenty of opportunities for growth within the company, doing something he loves, making reports and analyzing data. (He started building reports for them before he even started working for them!) He is kept busy doing something fun that requires skills that he has worked to develop. I am glad that he likes his job. Really! I am truly grateful that he has a good job finally. I hope he works there for a long, long time.

And yet, I am feeling frustrated. This is the second time this week that he has missed having dinner with the family (something that is important to me) because he had to finish something at work. I guess I'm used to him being a temp - he watched the clock, and left right at 5pm. He usually left work early on Fridays so he wouldn't go over his 40 hours. Last Friday he arrived home just after 6pm, right after the missionaries arrived for dinner, too late to help with any of the preparations or cleaning up for the company he signed up to have over. I am hoping that this is a temporary or occasional thing - that once he figures out what he's supposed to be doing he can get on top of it and manage to do it within normal working hours.  I'm sure there is a parable in this trial too, I just haven't figured out what it is yet.