Snejana Andjelkovic - Adapted from The Christian Science Journal, March 2007
WHILE I WRITE THIS ARTICLE, I’m on a plane from Paris to the US for an exciting new work adventure.
As an international financial advisor, I’ve come a long way from my childhood dreams of being an actress someday. And yet my working life could easily be described as a sequel to different movies. Glamorous, like a fairytale—with some twists and turns—but always with a “happy ending.” Just like those good old black-and-white movies I used to watch as a young girl.
It all started on a cold night in London, after a long day’s work. I was a student from Paris working at Harrod’s Department Store and had just cashed my pay check. As I went to meet a friend, I got lost, and a man who said he would show me the way snatched my bag and ran away.
The incident led me to explore all types of religions, because contrary to what I expected to occur—feelings of resentment, fear, and paranoia—I felt unexpected love for this man, who had stolen all the money I had to my name.
Up to this time I had left God completely out of my life. There had just been too many unanswered questions that my devoted Russian Orthodox parents couldn’t answer. I felt some important interpretation was missing, and I just wanted to know the truth. Nothing but the truth. And what led me on my search was exactly this love and forgiveness I had for somebody I should supposedly hate. Where did that love come from?
Soon I found out.
When I left London, I had enrolled in a Master’s program back home, but was still confused about what I would do with my life. The day I arrived in France, there was a package in the mail.
It was Science and Health, sent by a woman I had tutored in English when I was in high school. After reading just a few lines, I knew I had finally found the Truth. When I called to thank her, she said she just had a feeling it was the right moment to send the book to me.
As I thought about my future, it dawned on me that I wanted to become a businesswoman. At the time this seemed like an uphill battle, especially in France, where women weren’t welcome on the fast track. I also didn’t have the right qualifications for the business field. But as I embarked on my study of Christian Science, I just knew I could lean on God.
Out of nowhere came the idea: Go to Japan. I thought, “Huh? Quoi?” It was as if someone was speaking to me. I called a Christian Science practitioner and asked if it was common for God to talk to people like this. She didn’t think it was weird at all and suggested that I give everything over to God. If it was His plan, she assured me, it would all work out effortlessly.
In a matter of days, the whole plan—like some sort of beautiful carpet—began to roll out in front of me, and all I had to do was follow it. When my friends heard about my idea, they thought I was crazy, since Japan had an even worse reputation for gender discrimination than France. But I loved what Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health: “ . . . all things are possible to God . . .” (p. 1). It inspired me to leave all fear out of my thinking—even though I knew there would be obstacles to overcome. Besides being a woman, I was a very young one. And I like to laugh! How could I ever be taken seriously in Japan?
After a few months of getting settled in Tokyo, I went to my first interview for a “real” job. It was a nightmare. The owner of the firm took me out to dinner, ordered plenty of food, and a bottle of whiskey. When I mentioned that I don’t drink alcohol, he became aggressive, cancelled all the great dishes he had ordered (and I had so looked forward to that delicious meal!) and rushed me out of the upscale restaurant. I felt so humiliated.
But while I was waiting for the metro to get back home, I suddenly remembered what I was now learning in Christian Science. That I had a clear choice to make as to what I was accepting as real in my thinking. Was I going to let this man spoil the vision I had for a thriving career? God had given me specific talents to express, and I simply couldn’t be punished for it. I stood tall—my dignity restored. I felt so free!
A few months later, a Japanese friend asked me to help her British boyfriend set up a branch office of his business in Tokyo, and this was the beginning of a wonderful career in the financial advising field. It unfolded just as the practitioner said—if God was in control, it would be effortless. And it was. In fact, when I look back, I’m amazed, because for that first job I wasn’t even asked for my CV (resume), which would have shown no appropriate experience whatsoever.
Of course there were challenges—mostly my young age, and the fact that I was a woman. In order to get new clients, I needed to earn their confidence so they’d feel comfortable with my taking care of their financial affairs. I knew I could trust God, because God is Principle—divine law. I wanted to express beauty, femininity, professionalism, fun, strength. If I could express these qualities, nothing could stand in my way. And I was right. I had found my own original style, and everyone seemed to love it!
I continued to thrive in my work. I never had to resort to the cut-throat dealings I was told were part of the game. I never had to do any of the things that were supposedly “required” to get clients—go out drinking, take them to clubs, etc. Once I even had a client tell me the reason he decided to do business at our firm was because he never saw me hanging out in any of the popular bars, so he felt I was just the one to look after his finances. In a short time, I became the top sales person at the firm.
Step by step, God has put me in the right place. As I grew in my understanding of who God is and who I am as His child, my career skills have grown, too. I continue to see Jesus’ words put to action through his guidance: “I can of mine own self do nothing” (John 5:30). I am now the leader and fundraiser for a project that has relocated me to Paris. Still the youngest of the team in a male-dominated field, I’m working with some talented, highly-skilled senior engineers whom I’ve nicknamed “the Einstein guys.”
Recently I had to make a decision for which the advice of “my guys” was needed. At first I went along with their recommendations since they were the experts, but prayer has become such a natural part of my life that I knew I needed to be led by God.
When I went to bed one night, I suddenly felt as if a flashlight had been shined on the project, showing me the flaws in going with their recommendation—flaws that would directly compromise my investor clients. When I told “my guys” about my decision not to go with their recommendation, the pressure was really on. Plus, I was told that my decision would affect a small factory that would have to close down—30 people would lose their jobs. They reminded me that I was still in “baby clothes” and that I shouldn’t be questioning their authority.
It was then that I called a Christian Science practitioner to help me be certain that my choices were being guided by God and not by “mini me.” She reminded me that
Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need (Science and Health, p. 494)
So He would meet my need to know the right thing to do.In the midst of this hurricane of accusations about me, I was calm. Although the wind was blowing with raging force, my hair wasn’t moving! This situation reminded me of the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat, when his disciples woke him to save them all from the tempest (see Matt. 8:24–26). When I had first read this story I thought, Oh, come on, sleeping when the boat is about to sink? But now I understood. I felt I was grounded on a rock, unmoved by the criticism going on around me and the urgency of the situation.
I included the small firm with its 30 employees in my prayer. Whether this company was to close or not, God was in charge, and so it could only bring blessings. On a Saturday morning I received an e-mail from one of the Einstein guys telling me that the day before (which was the deadline for the company to close), a large firm had placed an order with them—an order five times the one I would have placed! As the project later turned out, “my guys” acknowledged the judgment call I made had been exactly the right move. I was so happy to see proof, as always, that God was supporting my every action.
During my career, which now spans several years, I have never been faced with gender harassment again, and am free from any fears about the male perception of a young woman in a high-powered business. Since I found Christian Science, I know who I am. And I realize now, looking back, how even the little I understood of this Science at the time did wonders in my life.
As I finish up this article, I’m sitting in another airport, on the return trip from the US to Paris. I’m in awe at having witnessed, yet again, God’s perfect work in the past couple of days. This new project will be an even bigger challenge. It might look to the world that I am cast as little David against the giant Goliath. But that’s okay. Because, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).
Snejana Andjelkovic was raised in the LaSarthe region of France. She is a financial advisor who travels between France and Japan.
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