I attended a networking lunch yesterday where a career coach spoke to us about career transitioning and change especially in an economy like ours. One of the questions in our workbook was "how do you maintain faith over fear?" That's a really relevant question for me as I move rapidly toward my eighth consecutive week of unemployment...which is, by the way, the last week that I'll receive a paycheck from Circuit City. If there was ever a time for fear to set in, it's now.
So, how do I not let fear get the best of me and better still, how is my faith working for me in tumultuous times? For me, faith is like a muscle - it has to be worked at for it to become strong. Some ways that I work on my faith muscle is through prayer and through practice. For some, practicing their faith is going to church, for others, it's an awareness of God or a higher power. For me, it's a combination of those. I do go to church, I volunteer as a religious education teacher, I work on the social justice ministry feeding the hungry and clothing the homeless...you know, building up those treasures in heaven! But I also try to incorporate my faith into every situation - especially the bad ones.
I commit my job search to God and I do that through prayer. I ask for wisdom and guidance in the jobs that I am applying for. I ask for direction as I go about my week seeking His guidance in opportunities that may present themselves. Should I go to that job fair, should I go to that conference, should I spend more time sifting through job vacancies online? Then I rely on an intuition after that. If opportunities present themselves more than once and I feel a sense of peace and comfort, I will usually take that as a sign of something I am supposed to pursue. If I feel anxious or apprehensive about an opportunity, I generally pass.
My brain and my heart will be in sync if I am walking in faith. I won't have that gnawing feeling inside that I am doing something wrong. I start my day in prayer and meditation, asking for God's guidance and then I just go about my day without worrying about how it unfolds. I take great comfort in knowing that, no matter how the day unfolds, my faith will be strong and my God will be in the lead.