Consider the Lilies

In 2012, I was faced with a dilemma. I had a decent job with Goldman Sachs, but I felt like I should go back to school and get an MBA. I had a pretty decent GMAT score and a 3.9 GPA but less work experience than a typical MBA student. Because of this, I was repeatedly told that I was a strong candidate, but it would be better for me to wait a year and get more work experience. The professor who interviewed me said that although I would most likely be accepted to the program, I would probably receive a significant amount of scholarship money if I waited. Even my acceptance letter strongly encouraged me to defer for one year.

I did some math, and deferring made a lot of sense. Not only would I receive a lot more scholarship money, but I would have an extra year to save up money, network, and make other preparations. I would also be much more attractive to potential employers with another year of experience. On its face deferring made a lot of sense, yet I still felt like I was supposed to start school that year.

I decided there was nothing else to do but to take the matter to the Lord. As I sat in the chapel of the LDS temple in Draper, UT, I said a prayer in my heart. I told the Lord that I felt like I was supposed to enter the MBA program at that time, but that it would be much more financially feasible if I waited a year. At that moment, the thought came into my mind, “Haven’t I taken care of you in the past? Where is your faith?”

I felt a little foolish. Up to that point, I had many experiences where I didn't know how I was going to make upcoming financial commitments and some miracle would come along to make it work. I have had enough experiences like that to be confident in the Lord's promise:

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

--Matthew 6:26-33

So I took the leap of faith, quit my job, and committed to support my family with student loans for two years.

Upon starting the BYU MBA program, the first order of business was to find an internship. This was especially urgent for those of us who were in the HR track because most of the companies that recruited at BYU for HR would complete their recruiting in the first few months.

I did everything by the book. I contacted alumni before starting school to start networking. I went to all of the recruiting events, sought feedback on my resume, and practiced interviewing. Surely I was ready for the recruiting season.

Or so I thought. I applied to every company that came on campus to recruit. I attended every information session these companies held, and I even traveled to the San Francisco area on my own dime to visit many of these companies’ headquarters. Despite all of this effort, most companies didn’t even grant me an initial interview. Those companies that did interview me didn’t advance me to further rounds.

By the end of October all of the on-campus companies had come and gone, and I didn’t have an internship. This was incredibly frustrating. Of course, I still had nearly 6 months to find an internship, but the prospects weren’t encouraging. Not only were most HR internships for MBA students already filled, but the most consistent feedback I received was not something I could correct--I simply did not have enough work experience.

To be honest, I felt a little betrayed. I was told that I would have trouble in recruiting without another year of experience, but I felt like I should start my MBA anyway. Was my experience in the temple an hallucination? Wishful thinking? Was I taking on all this debt just to find myself in unemployment?

As it turns out, the perfect opportunity for me came in an unexpected and miraculous way. A classmate of mine met a recruiter for Ford Motor Company. The opportunity at Ford was not the right opportunity for her, but she recommended my name to the recruiter. I not only received the internship, but I was given a project that matched my skills perfectly and set me up for a more successful recruiting season during my second year of the program.

Two years after graduating, I was faced with a similar dilemma. I had just received an offer to teach at a junior college about 40 minutes from where I grew up. Teaching at this level had always been the long-term plan, but the salary offered was less than half what I was making at my current job. Of course, I knew that making this move would require a significant pay cut, but I had hoped to make the move after paying off my student loans.

I felt very strongly that taking this job was what the Lord wanted me to do, but I felt that if I was going to take that kind of financial risk, I needed a stronger confirmation. As I prayed for that confirmation, I heard in my mind the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing “Consider the Lilies.”

The answer was clear. I needed to take the leap of faith and trust that things would work out. Since making that decision, it is amazing how things seem to work out to get us what we need when we need it.

I’ll spare you the details, but as I look back on the last several years, I am amazed at all of the little promptings, proddings, and opportunities that have it possible to start the job that I’ve always wanted. Some of those promptings and proddings were painful, but I seriously doubt I would be in a the position I am now without them.

What I’ve learned from all of this is that the Lord has detailed plans for each of us. Sometimes the path is painful. Sometimes the path is risky, but like a difficult hike up a mountain, you can look back on the path and see it from a perspective that was hidden before.

So whether you are facing a daunting decision, or whether you are facing the consequences of a decision that seemed right at once, but now seems less certain, press forward with faith. The same God that clothes the lilies and feeds the birds knows you and loves you, for you are His child. He sees capability in you that you cannot see in yourself and wants to put you on a path to harness that capability. The path will rarely be easy, but if you will follow His will, you will look back on your experiences and see how they shaped you into a better person than you could have become on your own.