Several years ago, I worked for a group of attorneys. I manned the front desk and was in charge of the Law Library. Although I only worked a thirty-hour week, it seemed like forty. When I was out, one of the secretaries would have to be pulled from the back to fill in for me. Supplements that needed to be filed also towered on my desk each time I returned.

My husband and my daughter were both school teachers, and I longed to spend more time with them. They were each off a week at Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, a week during spring-break, and three months in the summer.

I quit my job and decided to stay at home until I could find a job better suited to my desires. After a few months, friends began to ask me, "Are you ever going back to work?" My standard answer was, "Of course, when I find the PERFECT job." "And just what is the PERFECT job?" they would ask.

I thought about the question and realized that I wanted a job with great flexibility. I wanted to be able to take off a few days at a moment's notice. I also wanted a week off at Thanksgiving and two weeks off at Christmas. I longed for the atmosphere and work load to be without stress or guilt.

When I shared the description with my friends, they would say, "Are you crazy? You will NEVER find a job like that," to which I would respond, "Then I will not go back to work."

That was when Richard shared with me that before he had opened his practice, he had prayed about whom he should hire as a secretary. Two names were recommended to him: Joanie's and mine. Joanie had approached him for a job, so he had hired her. Then when Joanie had asked him about me for this job-sharing idea, he said he knew it was of God.

As Richard and I began to talk about the details, he said he wanted me to know that I could have complete flexibility. The job was never to come before my family. I could head out the door anytime someone in my family needed me. Then, as he was walking away, he said over his shoulder, "By the way, I always take one week off at Thanksgiving and two weeks off at Christmas."

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart: the PERFECT job!

Donna S.

Mobile, AL