1 of 1

Key Bible Verse: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12). Bonus Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Fresh out of college, I worked as a teller at a bank's mall branch. One Saturday an older woman came to my window, extracted a transaction slip from her purse, and for five minutes tried to explain what she wanted. I responded with increasing impatience. "You know," she said, sounding hurt, "you're not a very nice person."

"You're right," I replied, convicted by her honesty. "It's because I hate this job. I hate this mall. I've got a splitting headache from this sappy music, and I'm tired of shuffling money around for junior highers."

With a look of compassion, she asked, "Why don't you quit?"

"That's a good call," I said to my own surprise. "I think I will." I finished her transaction, walked to the manager's office, and announced, "This is my last week. I'm quitting."

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. That evening I called a friend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and told him I hoped to guide whitewater rafts before starting grad school. He gave me the number of a rafting company. I called the next day. The owner had room for a couple more workers. I loaded up my VW bug, drove west, began living again like life really mattered, and made new friends that have lasted a lifetime.

—Tom Taylor in Paradoxy

My Response: Can I get excited about my work or volunteer service?

Thought to Apply: If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?—Oscar Hammerstein ("Happy Talk" lyrics in South Pacific)

Adapted from Paradoxy (Baker, 2006); {176-178} by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

 1 of 1

share this page

Prayer for the Week

Don't allow me to settle for just going through the motions, Lord. Help me discover how to come fully alive.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter (All fields required)    RSS Feed   RSS Help