Morning sun shone through the windshield, but the little country road I took to work each day had lost its charm.
It wasn’t the scenery, or the road itself. It was the job I hated at the end of it. Personnel had changed with a local election. So did the atmosphere in the office, and not for the better. The stress was killing me.
I steered my van into a parking space. Lord, I can’t keep on like this, I thought as I walked inside. Surely God had heard my pleas for help. Was I missing his answer? Could you give me a sign I’m sure to understand? I asked him.
I settled in at my desk. Mary called to see how I was doing. We’d been friends for years. When management changed I’d confided my fears to her. She encouraged me as I tried to adjust to the new situation. When I confessed things weren’t getting any better Mary had supported me in trying to grin and bear it.
In fact, she gave me the resin eagle that sat front and center on my desk. It was supposed to remind me to fly above the minutia and soar. I glanced at the eagle now. “You know, Mary,” I said, “it’s really hard to fly with the eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys!”
Mary laughed. “You should quit.”
“If I were offered another job I’d take it in a second,” I said. “But what if I left this job and couldn’t get another? At least now I have security.”
Security. That was the one good thing about my job. I tried to remember it the rest of the day, as I counted the minutes until I could leave. Mary’s words kept running through my mind. Maybe you should quit. It was so tempting.
But the next morning I was back in my van, heading down the country road as always. There was something up ahead. I slowed down. An animal or bird was blocking the road—a whole group of something. I crept closer. Huge birds came into focus. Turkeys. Big, glossy, brown-black turkeys.
I’d never seen a turkey up close. Now they were all around me. I started to laugh and cry all at once. I had asked God for a sign I couldn’t miss, and he had surrounded me with turkeys—literally!
I turned around and called in—to announce my resignation. I had been waiting for another job to come to me before I could leave. Now I knew I could fly without one. I had skills, I had determination, and a little bit of savings to tide me over till I found a new job. Which I did.
Nowadays I may soar with the eagles, but turkeys will always hold a special place in my heart.
Did you enjoy this story? Subscribe to Angels on Earth magazine.
