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Earlier this month the following quotation appeared in my chat group:
Life is constantly changing and we’re always evolving.
There is no point trying to control every aspect.
Let go and have Faith.
Enjoy the little things!
Think about everything that’s happened to you in the past
And recognize how things work out in the end.
You are alive. Trust in God and be grateful.
So powerfully did it resonate with me that I immediately commented, “Amen, Amen”, for it seemed such a perfect description of how I had, for the most part, lived my life.
For as long as I can remember I have always had a love affair with numbers. In 1960, at my high school graduation, I received the prize for mathematics, and felt certain that a career in that discipline was in my future – perhaps more particularly as a teacher of mathematics.
Selecting Mathematics as one of my Higher School Certificates (the precursor of GCE A-Levels) options, seemed quite logical at the time, despite warnings that success at that level was not easily achieved. In my pursuit of this Certificate, I was introduced to a component of the Mathematics curriculum called, “Mechanics”. To this day, I cannot tell you what my teacher was trying to teach me. I failed A-Level Mathematics most miserably. Yet, refusing to accept this outcome, I repeated the subject twice – once essentially on my own and secondly as a member of an evening class at the College of Arts Science and Technology (CAST) - again failing on both occasions. I finally accepted defeat.
I meandered from my Library Service employment to the Civil Service, where I eventually embraced an opportunity to read for a Bsc (Econ) degree at the expense of the Government of Jamaica. Some years later, riding that same current, I entered the newly introduced Master's in Accounting programme - again, fortuitously, at the expense of the Government of Jamaica. And so, it was that I was happily propelled back into numbers.
I went on to gain the requisite qualifying experience for the Chartered Accountant designation by working as a Management Accountant in a telecommunications company and eventually, after some years, the Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Working in telecommunications at the time, took me to company-sponsored meetings on first-class travel to various international locations. It was definitely the high point of my career!
Now, almost 20 years into “retirement”, God is still blessing me with opportunities and the ability to “give back” – the first 10 years in an administrative capacity in my church, and more recently in a charitable health sector organization. This latter placement, which fell to me quite unexpectedly over 4 years ago, has emerged to be the most fulfilling part of my career to date.
From this vantage point, I see a single constant – God’s abiding presence in my life and a belief that wherever I landed it was by His design.
God has been my Father, my Keeper, my Deliverer, and my Friend. I continue to see an awesome God turning up for me every step of the way, in matters small and large, oftentimes preparing me to meet a challenge long before I knew there was going to be one. He has taught me that unresolved issues are best left at the foot of the cross for His full treatment in His own good time. I will continue to trust Him and be grateful.
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