Thy will not mine...

I graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in economics. I also had a wife and two kids by then, so it didn't make sense financially to try to continue on for an advanced degree, so after graduating I took a job with Walmart as an assistant manager. After a few years of working most holidays, Sundays, and never seeing the kids (I would often leave for work before they got up and return home after they were in bed), I decided maybe retail management wasn't the best option for me and decided to look for another job. I was able to get a job with a company that was a Walmart supplier (they distributed movies, music, and books), so I was still able to put that experience to good use. But as I watched technology change I realized that maybe being tied to music and movies wasn't a good long term fit for me and I decided to again look for another job.

So I did what would make sense for someone who had over 10 years of experience with Walmart; I started looking for and applying for jobs in the Bentonville, Arkansas area (for those who may not know, this is where Walmart is based, and just about every Walmart supplier has an office there).

I sent out resumés

I looked at job websites

I applied online for jobs

I looked at real estate listings

I sent out more resumés

I looked at more jobs online

I applied for more jobs online

I had interviews

I networked

And....nothing.

It was depressing...I was doing everything right, looking in the right place (given my background), talking to the right people, and doing it for the right reasons. Or so I thought...

As I was looking at one of the job websites, I came across a listing for a job with Russell Stovers in Kansas City, MO. I looked at the job description, and it somewhat fit what I was looking for, but not exactly. But I decided (mostly on a whim) to go ahead and submit my resumé. I didn't include a cover letter or anything that a serious applicant would do, and just left it at that and went on looking for jobs in northwest Arkansas.

A couple weeks later I get a call from my wife saying that someone from Russell Stovers had called. I vaguely remembered applying for a job with them, so I called back. They let me know that they were interested in setting up an initial interview, and over the course of about three weeks I had two phone interviews, they flew me in for an in-person interview, and then offered me a job. I accepted, and we started making plans to move from Amarillo, Texas to Kansas City, Missouri.

The day I called one of the local bishops to let him know that our family was planning on moving into the area, he called me back later that day and let me know that he had just returned from the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Kansas City Temple. It was then that I (and our family) started seeing some of the blessings that would be heading our way. We were able to watch our temple being build from nearly the beginning, my oldest three children were able to participate in the open house and cultural celebration, we are 20 minutes from both Liberty Jail and the Independence MO visitor center, and within 45 minutes of Far West MO (these are all significant historical places of our church). Looking back over the past three years, there was no way that I could have imagined all the blessings that have come our way because of the decision we made to move. I can imagine the Lord saying to me:

"Tom, when you're done thinking you know where you need to be, I'll let you know where I need you."

Or in other words, maybe what I should have been thinking all along is:

Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done

The Lord knows what He has in store for us, and sometimes all we have to do is move over to the passenger seat and let Him drive for awhile.