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Q. How has your take changed on what makes a satisfying job?

A. When I was younger, I aspired to a big pulpit in a big city making a name for myself. What I got instead is a small pulpit in a big city, making lots of friends. Sometimes what we think we need isn't what we need at all.

What caused you to start writing?

In college, I took a course in English composition and received a D. I laid down my pen and for 10 years kept silent. Then my Quaker meeting wanted a newsletter, and a front page fell to me, the pastor, to fill. I began with stories of folks I'd known and what I'd learned so far. A woman in my meeting said, "You ought to write a book." I asked my wife, Joan, if she'd mind doing the supper dishes and giving our sons their baths while I went down to the basement to write about family life. She agreed. So I settled down and wrote Front Porch Tales.

So what constitutes the good life?

Find a vocation that uses your God-given gifts, or you'll be a miserable wretch. I know a guy who's thoroughly convinced that God's called him to be a janitor. He doesn't make much money, but he's one of the happiest persons I know. He worked real hard to put his children through college. So they went down to Bloomington to the state college, and now they earn a ton of money, but none of them is as happy as their father. If you have to choose between following money or following your heart, go with your heart.

Philip Gulley is the pastor of Irvington Friends Meeting in Indianapolis.

Adapted from Front Porch Tales (Multnomah, 1997) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Thank You, Creator God, for uniquely designing me. Point me to what I can do that will satisfy me and glorify You.

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