As I watched news clips of this year’s commencement speakers giving advice to the new graduates, I couldn’t help but remember with gratitude my own post-graduation “pounding the pavement” experience—and the incredible spiritual journey it started. While my thoughts had always tended toward spiritual searching, I was not raised in Christian Science, nor had I even heard of it at that point in my life. During the very trying time of job hunting in New York City, I was told that I was either over-qualified, under-qualified, or constantly hearing the ubiquitous phrase, “Our company is under a job hiring freeze at this time.”
One rainy fall afternoon, after yet another disappointing job interview, I found myself on Fifth Avenue, standing in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I ventured inside to have a quiet place to think and pray. I still remember that precious moment of humbly yielding to God. The thought came, “Father, I just want to do whatever it is You would have me do.” I suddenly felt a deep sense of peace wash over me. I knew that something had changed.
That evening I had dinner with a friend, and an acquaintance who joined us gave me the name of a top “headhunter” in the city. Within two days I had a job in my field—and within weeks I was led to Christian Science. I was driving a friend to the airport—someone who’d just begun the study of Christian Science—and I happened to ask if he was reading anything interesting. He took a copy of Mary Baker Eddy’s book Prose Works out of his briefcase and said, “Here. Read this!” It was a book of writings about Christian Science. I had to smile because I had just become familiar with the words “Christian Science”—since The Christian Science Monitor office was next door to my new office.
