Cathi's decision to be obedient

For many years Cathi has had a dream to work for an airline as a call-center employee working from home.  Why?  Because it meant she could get tickets to travel to marathons at a fraction of the cost it would take to purchase a ticket.

She applied several times, and failed to capture the job.  But this time around she did.  It even involved a background check which required her to prove that she was unemployed while she was a mother.  I can understand proving that you were employed at a specific place, but to prove you were unemployed?  How and why in the heck is that an issue?  She had to get a letter from the dentist explaining that she was a mother working as a mother for her children and was not employed during the times in question.  Dumb.

But after all this work to get the job, she ultimately turned it down.

She looked at the shift she would be required to take for the first year.  They all included working on Sunday.  She immediately was heartbroken.

Of the nearly 120 marathons Cathi has completed so far, only one involved running on a Sunday, the San Diego Marathon back in 2004.  She has never trained on Sunday leading up to that marathon, and this experience made her feel so guilty that she vowed to never run on the Sabbath again.  This requirement to work on Sunday even though it could be done from home, was still breaking the Sabbath.  Why does the Lord ask us to keep the Sabbath Day Holy?

According to Elder James E. Faust in this talk, he suggests:

1. To allow our bodies to physically recover.
2. To renew and strengthen our spirits by attending our Sunday meetings
3. To respect his commandment to rest on this day.  To be obedient.

Even the Savior rested after the creation.

Surely answering phones can't be all that physically straining, and she would probably be able to work a shift that allowed her to still attend Sacrament meeting.  It would be fairly easy to justify moving forward with the job.  But those two justifications wouldn't be able to explain away the fact that it would still be disobedient to a commandment.

I'm proud of her decision to turn the job down despite her overwhelming desire to get that job with the special perk of free airline travel.  It shows a great level of trust in the Lord, and she is a great example to our children of faith and obedience.  I feel very blessed to have such a strong woman as my companion!  She definitely is the center of our family!