Graduation and a grave reality

I remember graduating from college, landing my first big job, and….calculating the time I would spend with friends and family versus the time I would spend with a bunch of strangers at work. A grave reality was delivered to me that day.

All my life my day’s activities had been in the company of friends. Algebra brought its fair share of stresses but was bearable because I sat with friends and we would pass the time memorizing the fast and tactful lyrics of Third Eye Blind (sometimes we applied our skills towards memorizing math equations). I remember the last time I sat in the Sombrilla as a student. I didn’t want the moment to end, I sat surrounded by friends, the laughter and pure joy was elating.

After graduation I embarked on an intensive job search. (A funny parallel: Church search vs Job search…On a church search you will generally run into very warm and inviting people, this is not the case with a job search.) If you know a person looking for a job, pray for them and wait for them to update you – sometimes the continual questions from friends and family can be wearing.

I was super fortunate to be offered a job shortly into the search and even more blessed that it was one I wanted (again notice the differences between a job search and a church search :) My job was driven by a mission I supported, focused on a task I was able to accomplish (with training), and paired me with –now I can surely say –a great group of colleagues.

…But many my Class of 2008 friends did not experience the same joys. Here is a fact for you: It is rare that your first job will be your dream job; actually make that your first three or five jobs. This is why the phrase “career path” was coined.

Job discontent (struggle or strife) became the new buzz prayer request, for many others and myself. After many conversations, I noticed a resounding reason for job discontent…Your job involves a responsibility that may not align completely with your desires (which encompasses a discontent for the limited amount of disposable time a full-time job offers).

In light of all this, what can you do? Reexamine your situation. What was the last thing God directed you towards? Has he directed you towards anything new? Live out your faithfulness unto God. Adultery is most known as an act that occurs in marriage, but the idea can be attributed to your career – the act of getting a job, then searching for a new one, then getting it, then searching for a new one. Grow your faithfulness-muscle, so that whenever (whether in marriage or career) you run into discontent you are able to face it and not run from it.

It is especially hard to be a worker bee in a secular society. Here is what you can do….

“Fix up your office like your going to stay for awhile, make yourself home there. Bring your lunch so that you can eat with everyone else. Put some pictures of your loved ones up around your desk and open up your life when you get a chance to do it. Work hard for your boss as if you are working for the Lord himself because this will gain the respect of everyone around you. Study your field diligently until you become an expert at it and doing this you will be seeking the prosperity and peace of your company because if you help it to prosper you too will prosper.” (Shane Farmer, Willow Creek, Troublemakers series)