It was my first consulting job, and I’d worked very hard for six months. However, when it came time to present my findings, I was terrified. Much of my analysis identified areas of the business that needed to improve, and I had witnessed the boss’s angry reactions to information he didn’t want to hear. A negative review from him would derail my ability to continue in this line of work.
When I’d first arranged for this job, which was for a luxury train, it seemed like a dream come true. In exchange for a branding proposal, I was allowed to observe all aspects of the business and travel with my family free of charge. The opportunity felt like a beautiful answer from God, whom I know from my study of Christian Science to be wholly good, omnipotent, and universally loving.
At first, the work was energizing; I threw myself into applying all I had just learned in business school to identify ways the company could operate better. After a few months, however, the shine wore off. Not only did I feel there were problems with the business, but the work atmosphere was almost tangibly filled with fear; employees were suspicious of one another and afraid of the boss.
I quickly felt such a nearness and closeness with God that the fear that had felt so paralyzing simply melted away.
As the time to present my results neared, I turned humbly to God in prayer to guide me. God answered those prayers in such a concrete way; I quickly felt such a nearness and closeness with God that the fear that had felt so paralyzing simply melted away. I knew that God’s love and care for me was more powerful than the fear, and this knowledge gave me strength and peace.
Once I gained that sense of peace, I was able to hear God-inspired direction regarding a new idea about how to present my findings. As I obediently took steps to carry this out, it became clear this was the right tone, amount of information, and approach for the situation. Practically speaking, I was ready.
On the morning of the presentation, however, I was suddenly overcome with an almost paralyzing fear of the boss’s reaction. Not able to think clearly, I went out to my car to sit quietly and pray. I had a copy of the Christian Science Sentinel (a sister publication of the Journal) in my car, and I opened it. I don’t recall the article I read, but it referred to this poem, which Mary Baker Eddy quotes in her book Retrospection and Introspection (p. 95). It reads:
Ask God to give thee skill
In comfort’s art:
That thou may’st consecrated be
And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy.
For heavy is the weight of ill
In every heart;
And comforters are needed much
Of Christlike touch.
—A. E. Hamilton
This poem touched my heart and answered my prayer. In a moment, I went from feeling like a frightened potential victim to an empowered representative of the Christ, Truth. I thought about Jesus, whom Mary Baker Eddy called in her primary work “the best man that ever trod the globe” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 52). What an example he was and is of compassion, kindness, outreach, and grace.
My job was to be a comforter in the workplace by expressing peace, clarity, poise, and strength.
With that firmly in thought, I suddenly realized my job was to be a comforter in the workplace by expressing peace, clarity, poise, and strength. Since the business perspective I was sharing was motivated by a sincere desire to help, it could only be a blessing to all involved. I felt what Colossians refers to as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27).
Actively acknowledging the presence and power of the Christ healed the fear I felt, and it gave me such a strong sense of spiritual dominion. I also affirmed that this healing Christ speaks to all, including my audience that day. I knew this would result in harmony that each of us could feel. Science and Health explains: “Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs. Christ illustrates that blending with God, his divine Principle, which gives man dominion over all the earth” (p. 316).
Feeling especially strengthened by the directive, “And comforters are needed much / Of Christlike touch,” I went back to the office and gave a successful, harmonious presentation that was well received. And while my career path took another pivot following this job, the lessons learned about the dominion of the Christ have stayed closely with me ever since.
