The office party was in full swing. As we sat at a long banquet table, the wine flowed freely. Instead of partaking, though, I happily sipped a glass of sparkling water. Suddenly, one of the bosses bellowed from the opposite end of the table, “Jill, how come you don’t drink?” The room fell silent. All eyes turned to me, and in the brief seconds that followed, I silently prayed, “God, help me! What do I say?”
I could have explained that I didn’t drink because of my deeply held religious beliefs as a Christian Scientist (which no one in the room knew of), but this wasn’t the time or place for that conversation. Without further thought I found myself answering, “It just doesn’t agree with me.” This wasn’t an expression I’d ever used in that context, so the answer felt divinely inspired. Sure enough, it satisfied the boss’s curiosity and immediately ended the inquiry. Everyone went back to chatting.
I was finding God to be an ever-present, abundant, and permanent source of satisfaction.
