Pray Always

My thoughts on Elder Bednar's talk "Pray Always"

I have such a wonderful testimony of the power of prayer. I remember my mother always telling, no urging me to pray. Pray over everything at any time, any place and for little trivial thing. I remembering praying that our car would make it home. I remember praying that we would find water for the radiator and finding a gallon jug that must have falling off a construction truck on the side of the road. I remember praying for lost uniform socks. I remember praying for peace the night my first serious boyfriend broke up with me. I remember praying for comfort as I made the decision to say "yes" or "no" to a man I loved. I remember praying over sick children in the middle of the night. I know pray over that same child in the middle of the night, but not because he is sick but because he is "out." My mother taught me that prayer is real and that it is necessary for us, that is if we want an easier life.

For about the past six months I have been praying for a miracle for my family. My husband was very dissatisfied at his current job. He works for Microsoft and many a man (and women) envy the fact that he worked there. But he was very unhappy. Not just a little, a LOT. He was became disenchanted many years ago, but was lazy and thought he could weather the unhappiness because the perks that come with the job as well as the fact that looking for a job is not fun. But things progressed and he had to look for a new job. Right now is NOT the time to be looking for a job. Companies are laying people off, not hiring them. I have been praying hard for him to find a new job. Praying hard barely scratches the surface of my efforts. In fact as soon as soccer was over, I even started attending the temple weekly. We needed a blessing. We needed a miracle.

Sometimes answers to prayers take time, after all those blessing are given by our Father and as the giver we get them when they are handed out. Steve started looking in earnest just after Labor day. August was not the month to start looking as we had just had the death of my mother, my surgery and a couple weeks of vacation. It is hard to schedule interviews when you aren't in town. He started sending his resume out and had a few phone interviews, but the bites were slow if not there. But every time I prayed, I felt that peace that comes from following His will. I knew it would happen or we would be OK--one way or another, but it didn't stop me from praying very hard.

Late October started and I found myself picking up the strangest of magazines at my therapist office. Seattle Business was an odd choice, but the fact that I didn't have my general conference Ensign with me or a novel or even my chemistry book with me is a mystery. In it I noticed that Real Networks was thinking about spinning of a company that wrote casual computer games. (I'm sure I'm getting this all wrong--I barely understood half that article.) That is the very thing my husband would die to do. He does it at home for no pay! Imagine him getting a job where he got paid to do that! I decided to bring the magazine home (I was going back to that office in two days for my next session of physical torture) and showed him the article. I don't know what he did with it, but a week later he told me that Real Networks was going to do a phone interview with him. I found out the time and found myself in the temple at that time. I didn't dare call him for fear I would ruin it. I was on pins and needles the whole time. That phone interview moved into an in person interview the Thursday before Thanksgiving week.

I couldn't be in the temple during the interview since I had therapy, but during my ice and stim I did nothing but pray for him. Probably the longest prayer I've had outside the temple since I've had kids---a whole 15 minutes! He felt so good about the interview and he thought he would be hearing from them early the next week. I felt good too. I went to the temple that Tuesday (just before Thanksgiving) and felt that same inner peace, only this time without a worry that my natural man usually drums up.

No word!

We went to his parents' home for Thanksgiving and we were actually feeling a bit more uncertain because we hadn't heard. Again to my knees and the temple I went. This time I prayed hard for him as well as his father who had a huge court case. There were a few nephews, cousins and even siblings who also needed prayers, so I added them (not that they weren't added, but I just didn't know what else to do).

All this time there had been a bit of a change at Real. They were reorganizing the department he would be working in if hired. They needed to straighten things out a bit before they could move forward.

Steve was now on vacation from Microsoft and so torn up inside. He started to feel antsy (of course he may never admit that). He attended the temple with me a few times and I came away feeling that same peace I had been feeling all this time.

Eventually he had to do one more phone interview with a new/old hire. This person would be Steve's boss but he was an ex-employee who was coming back. He felt he had nailed the interview and we felt very good. A few days go by and again nothing. Knots in tummies is mild to compared to what we were feeling. There were no other bites out there for him to pursue (at least locally).

It came out that there was an internal employee who wanted the same job. By know my pj's have holes in their knees! My temple stockings have lost their stretch and my recommend card is on fire from all the laser beams flashed on it!

Finally word came and Steve got the job!

Miracles do happen. What miracle you ask? The miracle of timing. See, with the change in jobs, our health insurance just got a bit worse off. We now have a co-pay for all our visits and prescriptions. I just finished with my back therapy and my shoulder therapy is three visits away from being done. The one medication that the whole family takes (allergy) is now over the counter, but better yet, Costco has it for a fraction of the cost. I can actually afford it now. Any sooner and we would be out quite a few dollars!

I know this has little to do with Elder Bednar's talk, but it reminded me of the times I prayed a car to start, a lost sock to appear, a fever to break, a baby to come, a home for teens and a job for Steve.