Last Lecture Exercise

Lessons learned:  Last Lecture Exercise

      Placing God first can transform difficult challenges into rewarding and spiritual experiences.  This term while completing case studies and trying to understand lessons from others’ lives, it brought to memory the time my wife and I had to learn a very tough lesson.  As a field service technician for Cummins, one of my first assignments was to shadow a journeyman mechanic in the Phoenix valley.  I would travel with him and work either on the same projects or on the same work-site as he would.  This was a rewarding experience for me; it was successful in building a solid foundation with Cummins.  After six months, I was assigned to be a resident diagnostician for one of our larger clients.  Each day I would report to their service facilities and diagnose and direct repairs on their fleet.  I had three new co-workers that seemed dependable and easy to work with.  This specific assignment was coveted by many in field service, so I considered myself lucky for having advanced to this position so quickly.  Within weeks of accepting this new role at work, I was extended a call to serve in my wards bishopric.  The work-life, home-life, church-life balance was working well and I felt comfortable with my life.  I believe the Lord hates comfort zones and have learned from personal and spiritual tests that mortality is a time to progress, not remain stationary. 

       It only took one month for the honeymoon season to end with my new work assignment.  As a journeyman diagnostician, my shift at Cummins had always been Monday through Friday.  After three weeks, I was told that Tuesday through Saturday was my new obligation, a shift normally reserved for junior technicians.  Working on Saturdays and serving in the bishopric was very difficult.  On this day a majority of ward gatherings, ecclesiastical visits, training sessions and interviews happen; because a majority of ward members are home.  I tend to be very quiet while I work, a habit I’ve had since an adolescent.  My new co-workers mistakenly took my reserved nature as arrogance, and began to show hostility towards me.  Seemingly random mistakes of a forgotten invitation for break time or lunchtime with the guys, became the norm.  We had an open locker room to change into our work clothes, and things turned worse when it was understood I was LDS.  Filthy, pornographic jokes and images were displayed and passed around during lunches and breaks to ensure I wouldn’t join them.  There was a silver lining to this cloud of darkness however, there were no further invites of partaking in the “adult” club or bar scene with them after work.  One day I inadvertently discovered my immediate supervisor and the “old” Saturday technician were closely related.  Overhearing a conversation, I learned they considered my timidity and lack of aggressive nature a weakness and planned to assign me work on every holiday.  This hostile work environment continued for over a year.  I began to suffer from depression and severe anxiety; I began to wonder about life and my testimony of God’s love.  It seemed as I actively sought the guidance of the Holy Ghost through scripture study, and by dedicating any free time to my family or church calling – the worse things got at work.  Things came to a boiling point when my integrity was called into question on multiple jobs.  All of the diagnostics and repairs I performed were now being scrutinized by my supervisor.  Job notes would disappear and engine parts would be added to repairs without my knowledge, thus allowing an opportunity for a warranty audit and possible termination. 

          I continually studied my responsibilities and the scriptures, praying for a resolution to my dilemma.  After what seemed like innumerous prayers and countless hours of personal meditation, I finally received an answer to prayers.  The Lord blessed me with strong promptings to search for a new position.  I quickly found an internal Cummins job posting in upstate New York that would be a perfect fit for me.  This new job would allow me to progress to a supervisory role, with better pay and better hours.  After updating and submitting my resume, my family began the patient game of wait.  As a family, we began to fast and pray for a response.  My wife and I also dedicated time in attendance at the temple.  We discussed and thought we were meeting all of the Lord’s stipulations to receive personal revelation.  Days and weeks passed, yet no news was forthcoming.  Work was becoming more and more antagonistic and I could see no end in sight.  Late one afternoon, on my homeward commute through the back roads of the Bapchule Indian Reservation, I hit an emotional wall.  In deep despair of rock-bottom, inwardly screaming, “Why won’t the Lord answer our prayers!”  On the road’s shoulder, with tears of frustration and anger I poured out my soul to the Lord.  After multiple heartfelt prayers, I sat and began to ponder my life and its decisions.  Deep in self-contemplation, it finally happened, an answer.  Tears of relief flooded my vision as I cried my way home to my family – finally knowing what the Lord required of us.  On that dusty road, in a spot I’ll never forget, I gained a personal witness that my family was supposed to move.  I arrived home, and with apprehension, I spoke to my sweetheart about the experience.  From the relief I heard in her voice and saw in her face, I knew we both had received the same answer.  Within a couple of days, I wasn’t shocked when I received a call from the branch field office in Boston, Massachusetts.  The interview process and negotiations for an employment offer went very smoothly.  I received an agreeable offer and began preparations to move my family 3000 miles away.  Through this and other experiences I’ve learned, when acting upon revelation the Lord will prepare the way.  Our landlord graciously allowed us a month-to-month home rental agreement nearly a year earlier than what had been agreed upon.  We were able to sell nearly all our household items at simple yard sales.  We were having a hard time coming up with the $3000 required to transport our second vehicle.  In an accident with no injuries, our car was totaled and a check arrived from the insurance company in less than ten days.  Finally, unwarranted, a friend contacted me with a desire to help us move.  They would use their company vehicles to move the rest of our belongings to New York and only required we pay for fuel.  As a family we thanked God, finally understanding our reward for trusting in the Lord.  Our testimonies and love for God had grown beyond measure through this experience.  I scheduled my departure interview with Cummins and informed my bishop of our departure date.

       Six days before we were scheduled to report in New York, I received a phone call from the human resource director in Boston.  It was a quick, two-minute-long conversation to inform me the offer for employment was rescinded because of an error found on my resume.  My resume stated I had graduated from a technical college with a degree in Heavy Duty Mechanics, which I had transcripts and a diploma as proof.  The college was contacted for validation and they confirmed to Cummins I had received a “certificate of completion”, not a degree.  This error in semantics was enough to pull my offer off the table.  Personal and spiritual devastation followed.  What was I to do?  How was I supposed to tell my wife and family?  How could a simple word phrase be the cause of this much damage?  Simply put, in a matter of days I would be without a job and homeless.  My cloud nine had turned into a typhoon and threatening to destroy me.  Thoughts raged across my mind “Why would the Lord answer our prayers only to destroy our hopes and dreams?”

I have a solid testimony that some people are born humble, all others must be compelled to His will.  Leavened bread needs a pan to help shape and mold it for the final product, I too needed this experience to mold me into the person I am today.  My despair was deep and terrible, but temporary.  I called my boss, who graciously cancelled my exit interview and accepted me back as an employee.  Within a week of coming back to work, I was made the shop foreman of a different Cummins shop, completely ending the hostilities and changing my wages to what I would have earned in New York.  The money we made from selling the household goods provided a down payment on our current home.  Upon receiving a prompting, my Bishop never informed the stake presidency of my departure or began the search for a new councilor, even though he had two months to do so.  I retained my church calling, allowing me to have some of the most memorable experiences of my life.  In Proverbs 3: 5-6 we read “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  I know my experience doesn’t compare to Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac, but my willingness to allow God first has become much easier.  I’ve come to believe that memories are prompted during my study time for some reasons known and some unknown.  My study of successful entrepreneurs and their standard operating procedures has given me hope that the road followed may not always be smooth, but it will lead to success.  While success may not always bring happiness, I know if I remain within heavenly guidelines I will gain both happiness and prosperity.