Trust in Him and He Will Direct Your Way

Five years ago this month my trials, adversities, and humiliations began.  And I thank God for everything that happened to me.

I was fired after a 40-year career as a Catholic school educator.  The following Bible passage regarding trusting in God and accepting adversity succinctly summarizes the entirety of my ordeal.  

“My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days. Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation. Trust in God, and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him.” (Sirach 2:1-6)

My adversities began in March, 2020, following the arrival of Covid.  The initial government response to the coronavirus pandemic, as you may recall, was to close down schools for the remainder of that school year. 

Additional state and Church directives were soon issued.  These directives, along with  my resulting decisions, culminated in my firing.  We ended up selling our house and moving across the country in the two year period that followed. 

A Lost Shepherd?

A year after the initial school shutdowns, the governor of the state of Washington required the inoculation of all educators in all schools with the experimental covid-19 “vaccine.” While his mandate allowed religious exemptions, the Archbishop of the Seattle Archdiocese upped the ante.  He declared that he would not allow any exemptions.

I wrote the Archbishop to plead my case from an authentically Catholic perspective.  I asked that he grant me an exemption from receiving an abortion-connected vaccine and injecting an experimental drug in my body. I explained that the Church dictates that one must not be forced to act contrary to one’s well-formed conscience, and that vaccinations must be voluntary. 

(A detailed account of how the Seattle Archdiocese fired me for refusing to take the jab is here. It includes my letter to the Archbishop full of corroborative, footnoted facts straight from the Vatican and the Catechism that supported my position.)

I did not get a response from the Archbishop. Instead, his human resources director informed me I would need to vacate my position within a few weeks. Additionally, she told me reinstatement was not possible in the future, even if covid-related mandates changed. On top of this, she informed me I would never be eligible for future employment at any Catholic school or parish in the Seattle Archdiocese. 

A Tough Decision

There I was, in the fall of 2021, beginning my forty-first year working for the Seattle Archdiocese and my thirty-fourth year as a principal. I found myself with a paramount decision to make. Do I pick the harder “right,” which would result in losing my career? Or do I pick the easier “wrong,” which would save my job but result in going against my well-formed conscience.

It was daunting enough not having the backing from my two “shepherds” – the Archbishop and my immediate boss, my pastor. Making my experience even more difficult was that I did not feel much moral support from others, even when they heard I was considering refusing the covid-jab and would lose my job for refusing it. 

The Archdiocesan schools’ office and my fellow principals at the other Seattle-area Catholic schools remained totally mum. Many of the school’s parents and staff remained silent as well. 

I did, however, appreciate the handful of parents and staff who publicly expressed indignation toward the powers-that-be about my impending firing. Thankfully, I had 100 percent support from my loving wife.

My wife and I intensely prayed to God to hold us in His loving care and help us make some of the biggest decisions in our lives. Our first decision was to not go against our consciences by getting inoculated, even though a sizable number of Americans (over 85%) were taking the jab.  Even more disconcerting was that my career depended on me getting vaccinated.

Our second momentous decision, which soon followed, was to move out of state.  We decided this because the Seattle Archdiocese permanently banned me from ever teaching or holding an administrative position again. We also felt Washington’s oppressive covid-related-mandates, and the state’s ultra-progressive leanings, were getting too much to bear.

Trusting In God

My wife and I finally concluded we needed to trust in God, leave the only state I have lived in, and move across the country.

I am not retelling this story to be critical of how most government bureaucrats and Church leaders responded to the coronavirus outbreak. I retell this story, on its five-year-anniversary, to report the good news of how the assurances imparted in Sirach 2:1-6 can definitely happen in one’s life.

I implore others who are experiencing comparable trials in their lives to likewise trust in God.  Simply accept any adversity that happens, and utilize the Lord’s gifts of patience and hope. That is what my wife and I did. 

Instead of fearing what was going to happen to my career and our lives, we put our faith in God. He was the cure for our fear. By having faith in Him, we put ourselves under His control. It was God’s truth that directed us rather than the trials we were facing. 

Throughout all the hardships and criticisms we received, we never regretted our refusal to shoot an abortion-connected, untested drug into our bodies. We likewise have never regretted our move from the Pacific Northwest to the South. 

Even though we sorely miss family, friends, and the natural beauty of Washington, we have come to love Tennessee. Re-settling in a place with southern hospitality and a more conservative, God-fearing population has been a blessing. 

Every decision one makes should be in accordance with God’s will.  There will be times when you will know – whether definitely or through your inner voice – that God wants you to choose a particular action. As a faithful Christian, you put your options before your Lord during prayer time with Him, and it eventually becomes clear what His will is. 

Decision Making

In his book, What Does God Want?, Fr. Michael Scanlan proposes some basic questions to ask when facing an important decision:

1. Is your decision conforming to God’s law as revealed through Scripture, Tradition and the Teaching of the Church? If it is not, then it is the wrong decision.
2. Is your decision going to foster personal growth in holiness and deepen your union with God? If it is not, then it is the wrong decision.
3. Is your decision consistent with past decisions? This is assuming these past decisions that you made were ones where God “spoke” to you and they ended up bearing good fruit.
4. Is your decision followed by some confirmation from God? This confirmation could be in the form of doors being opening that were once closed, resources revealed that will provide what you need, and/or trusted friends affirming your decision.  

My wife and I could adapt all four questions to the decisions we had to make from March of 2020 to June of 2022. And the answer to all four questions, how we responded to various mandates and decided to move forward after adversity, would be “yes.” 

We trusted in our Almighty Father’s plan for our lives. We knew that He wanted what was best for us. We also believed He would help us not only to face crises but to then make the challenging decisions that would follow.

We thank the Holy Spirit for the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God. These gifts came in mighty handy five years ago. We pray that God continues blessing my wife and I with these gifts in the next five years and beyond, as we make decisions in the future.