One of the Young Single
Adults in China that I got to know through my church responsibilities
here told me a story that nicely illustrates the importance of
faithfully acting upon personal revelation. It reminds us that the things that
might not make sense based on what we know may have surprising plot
twists that suddenly broaden the landscape of our knowledge.
This young woman had
become fluent in Chinese long before her Chinese-language mission.
Right after her mission, she was back to school in Provo, Utah, but
with very little money. In fact, her financial situation was turning
into a real concern.
She had $300 rent due
in a few weeks, but with the high cost of textbooks and other
factors, she realized she wouldn't have enough to make ends meet. She
had no job at the time and needed one, but was having no luck finding
one that could meet her needs and fit her constraints.
Worried, she went to
the Provo temple and took time there to pray and seek guidance on how
to manage things. She had a strong impression that she needed to go
to a particular Chinese restaurant in Provo and ask for a job.
She honestly felt that
this was "the dumbest idea ever." It couldn't possibly
work, she felt. I think it was because of her schedule
and transportation issues, plus the pay at the restaurant surely
wouldn't be enough. But she chose to put her objections on the back
burner, hopped on her bicycle, and rode directly to the
restaurant on Center Street.
She approached the
owner and, speaking in Chinese, asked about working there. She
quickly learned that they didn't need help since it was a hot pot
place where the staff needs are very low (with hot pot cooking, you pretty
much cook your own food).
"Yep, what a dumb
idea!" She was disappointed and felt silly and awkward.
As she prepared to
leave, a man who was sitting in the restaurant grabbed her hand. He
explained that he had heard her speaking Chinese, and said that he
had a daughter studying Chinese who needed a tutor. Would she be
willing to come work for him?
He told her that she
pretty much could pick her hours and name her salary. This ended up being the perfect job
for her.
The "dumbest idea
ever" became the best job tip she could hope for, after
listening and acting in faith. There are lessons there for all of us.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.
