I can hear in my head Bishop Barron saying, “Your life is not about you” as he has made that remark a number of times throughout his videos and presentations. Yet when we are in the midst of strife, we can forget our interactions can be a learning experience for others as well as for ourselves.

For the past few months, my life has revolved around the activities of searching for a new job. While I have been hired for a short-term contract, I did end up interviewing with another company, since that was a slightly longer contract position and I had been in contact with them prior to being hired. During my interview, the one manager was using negative language regarding the application that I was being brought on to support. I provided my perspective to the recruiter who assured me the company was completely committed to the application, it’s just that the manager is frustrated at the lack of progress that has been made. But I have seen in previous experience, the negativity from management filters down and compromises the motivation of the team. 

After some exchanges with the recruiter, we all agreed that I was not the right person for the role. While that did sting my ego a bit, I wondered why God had me go through this experience? I was looking at this from my perspective, it was my job search, this was happening to me. But what if this incident was not about me at all? What if this was a way for that company to recognize that the way they communicate matters? Did they learn their lesson? I have no idea, and it’s really not for me know. The important thing is for me to be a willing participant in this learning opportunity. I need to evaluate my words and actions to see if I could have said or did things differently, but not to dwell in the “what ifs” of what can never be. 

How many times have we been puzzled by exchanges we’ve had with others? Sometimes they feel like they don’t make sense at all, but have we ever considered that we were placed in those circumstances for a reason? When things work out for our benefit, we often attribute it to having “good luck” or receiving a blessing. But if we are not the beneficiaries of the outcome, we may just consider it weird and move on with our day. And perhaps, too, we’re not meant to recognize our part, which is why the situations feel odd. In the aftermath of the interview and communications of the job, my prayers for guidance through it feels like I was rewarded with a peek behind the curtain of life, showing me how this situation was not about me, but for the others involved. However, there was also a question as well: will I allow God to use me in the future for a similar effect? This may mean I will find myself feeling like I am out of my comfort zone, being anxious about what I am to say or do, and results without any blessing. Will I embrace all manners of circumstances and ask God to use me for His will to be done? Will I accept physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual sufferings for the betterment of others?

We are all called to pursue the will of God to the best of our abilities. As the Bible illustrates, God involves people from various backgrounds and experiences to accomplish salvation and to guide mankind back to a relationship with Him. I like to think that we are all blessed with our life on Earth for a reason, but in reality there are probably countless reasons why God orchestrates the various events on our paths to Him. Let us ask Mary for the confidence to say “Yes!” to do God’s will and to ponder these experiences in our hearts with her help.