The conference breakfast was served on the west lawn alongside the harbor marina. Delicate rays from the sunrise provided just enough warmth for the conference attendees to enjoy their food and meet with friends and peers. As the breakfast concluded and the conference was about to begin, attendees were ushered into the meeting hall for the kick-off keynote.
Like many others, this was my first time attending the annual conference and I felt excitement for the schedule sessions and events of the week. As everyone settled into their seats in preparation for the keynote, I opened my work email to find a company-wide invitation to join an urgent, virtual meeting. Although it conflicted with the keynote presentation of the conference, I was obligated to leave the meeting hall, return to my hotel room, and join the company meeting.
It was clear that big news was going to be shared in the last-minute, global meeting. The unfortunate news came that a large portion of the company would be reduced due to financial constraints. Those whose role was to be impacted by this reduction would receive an email with that message along with next steps for the termination process.
Several minutes went by before the promised email arrived in my inbox. And for the first time in my professional career, I was without a job.
The weekend prior to the professional conference I attended just so happened to be the semi-annual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the final moments of that event, the President and Senior Apostle of the church, Russel M. Nelson shared a message to remind members of the church to have an eternal mindset. He called this “thinking celestial.”
President Nelson’s timely message was fresh on my mind as I contemplated my impending unemployment and future prospects. I knelt in gratitude and prayer to express thanks to my Heavenly Father for the way He always met my many needs and the needs of my family. I was also filled with gratitude for the experiences and relationships I’d made throughout my professional journey.
It didn’t mean that everything felt good. I was also experiencing shock, disappointment, or frustration. Those are normal and natural reactions to receiving news of lost livelihood. The job market is flooded with others in my professional space going through very similar situations. That makes a job search magnitudes more difficult and competitive. This period of unemployment will be hard. Its length is unknown. Our finances are limited.
In my communication with God, I sought peace and clarity about the path forward. Along with the recent message from a Prophet of God to “think celestial,” the words of a well known hymn echoed in my mind.
Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.
That’s a part of celestial thinking. We operate in years, weeks, days, and sometimes even moments. God operates in decades, centuries, and millennia. His vision extends far beyond my own. We do not know the distant scene, but we can trust that He does. And as He blesses us with light enough to take a solitary step, will we move our feet?
I will.