The Evergreen Journal #6 – Seeking Euphoria
Photo of Hemlock branch, ©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2022.
The Evergreen Journal #6
Seeking Euphoria
692 words
1996
Today is the day my long and challenging educational journey to reach my goal is completed. I take a quiet, deep breath as I anticipate the questions that will be asked. I know I did everything I could do in preparation for this day.
I shift slightly as I sit in a chair in the President’s office. I think of the lectures I gave to the students and faculty for a few moments. Then, a flash of reality hits me as the President arrives and shakes my hand.
This is the moment I have worked for all these years in my studies and work experiences.
The President is friendly, and I relax a bit. I studied and read numerous books in preparation for the questions he might ask.
All the questions and years of work prepared the path to this moment.
This is my interview for a position on the faculty at this college.
After a round of questions and answers, the President stopped to ask me two final questions.
Q._ Are you ready for the challenges of teaching full-time?
My response was
I already have been teaching all my life. As a child, we played school on the front porch. I was always the teacher. Then, as I grew, I was constantly learning new things and sharing them with others. I will continue to be a teacher all my life – with or without this position.
Q_ If we decide to hire another candidate, would you continue to work here part-time?”
My response was gentle but firm.
No, I would not be able to continue doing that. I’ve been working here on my day off and at night. I will continue working full-time at my present job. I won’t be coming down to work any further on a part-time basis.
The Bible says that a man cannot serve two masters, and I will devote myself to working only one job.
*
2022
I am thinking right now about what it means to be Seeking Euphoria. You probably noticed that is the opening phrase of my Mission Statement. In a nutshell, that is what I do. That is my job description.
Pay attention to the turning point on your life journey. I call these encounters Divine Pivots. Read more about them here.
When my meeting with the President ended, it wasn’t long before I was welcomed as a new college faculty member. The best description of how this felt to me was euphoric.
We can all find our own God-given mission for our life. But, I admit, it takes a lot of self-examination. We have to spend time and be honest as we reflect on what we are doing and examine our lives to determine what brings us to this question. The answer will be discovered as you begin searching for it.
Can you begin to see your own timeline and the places where God intervened in your life in some way so that you might be aware of him?
What is there at the center of YOU?
Examine your life to find the core of who you are.
It is not about what you do. It’s not about your job, education or profession.
It’s really about who you are deep at the center of you. What’s there?
Note:
The word “euphoria” is derived from the Ancient Greek terms εὐφορία: εὖ eu meaning “well” and φέρω pherō meaning “to bear”
Let’s just say this word, Euphoria reflects our well-being!
In the 1860s, the English physician Thomas Laycock described Euphoria as the feeling of bodily well-being and hopefulness;
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever.
Proverbs 17:22
Euphoria is finding God’s pleasures, forever.
I am pleased to write about something the Holy Spirit has been teaching me over the past year. My life lessons began a year ago when I chose to live with the word Clarity for 2021. That decision was a turning point on my journey to a more profound understanding of faith. I call these encounters Divine Pivots. Read more about them here.
Want more insight into changing the atmosphere in your own life – Here
©2022. Lynda McKinney Lambert. All rights reserved.