I love the song Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks. I can’t believe it, but the song is more than 25 years old now. I think it’s staying power isn’t just thanks to the way Garth sings it, but really the words he crafted.
For those that can’t recall the song, give it a listen. I think it will move you, too. Or at least remind you of situations in your life.
The idea is that we can pray so hard for things to go one way, only to have them not happen.
Then after some time goes by, we look back and are so thankful our prayers went unanswered- because life served up something even more amazing than we could have imagined.
I had one of those full circle moments recently.
A few years ago I really wanted a job with a local blood bank. It was a marketing position that paid more than what I was making in my then current job.
I saw it as an opportunity to move away from managing events and into something more akin to my training and experience. My degree was in marketing, and I felt this position at the blood bank would help me get back on track with my career.
And I also believed in the cause- everyone that can, should donate blood.
But outside of those things, the position wasn’t perfect by any means.
First, I love media relations and that was a very small part of the job. Second, there wasn’t any clear upward mobility, which concerned me because I was tired of moving form organization to organization.
Then there was the situation that the job was 30 minutes from my house, or maybe more if traffic was bad. Not horrible, but not what I had at my current job, which was a 10 minute commute.
Oh, this meant I would also have to give up my beloved spin classes in the morning because the job started at 8 am. Even through I don’t take a lot of time in the morning, I definitely couldn’t get home from spin by 7 am and be out the door in 30 minutes. It wasn’t going to happen.
But I ignored all those inconvenient truths, convinced that this was the job for me.
And things were looking good during the interview process. They brought me back for four interviews. They explained I was one of two candidates and they just couldn’t decide who to pick.
That gave me a little concern. Shouldn’t senior leadership show more… well, leadership? But never mind that, this was my big opportunity. And it was more money! It would be great.
So after my forth interview the big call came… And I didn’t get it. They went with the other guy.
And I cried. Oh yep, you bet I did.
And I felt lost.
And after a while, I let it go and started to look again.
Admittedly, a little more defeated and a lot less optimistic about getting a great opportunity. But at the same time, I started to really cast a wide net.
I stopped limiting the jobs I applied for, and instead just really put myself out there.
And there were plenty of jobs that I applied for and never heard back at all. And there were other times I got interviews, but didn’t get the job.
And there was even one time I got the job, but had to decline it because they couldn’t meet my salary requirements. I would have made less than I was making at the time and that really wasn’t an option.
And then out of the blue I applied for job doing media relations for a large organization that would pay more than I was making, was about five minutes from my house, and had lots of upward mobility. But I didn’t think twice about it, because it was an organization that had a reputation for being really hard to get into. They always hire from within.
But I did get an interview. And then the next day I was offered the job. Just like that.
And today, 14 months after starting, I received a significant promotion.
And I’m completely blown away.
My job is more than I could have envisioned. I get to work with so many positive and interesting people. I get to work on subjects that are challenge, but so important and rewarding. I’m valued here and I feel that every day.
I get to do media relations, which I love, and I’m well-compensated for what I do. And my organization preaches (and lives) the importance of a work/balance. Long hours, late nights, and weekends just don’t happen here.
I am so thankful for God’s “unanswered prayers,” or more accurately, I’m thankful for things unfolding exactly the way the universe always intended.
