Interview

We’ve lived in Topeka for about 25 years now. Prior to that, we lived in Wisconsin and I was looking for a different job. As an actuary, there aren’t many job opportunities in general, and since insurance companies need us to do certain things, there is a process they have to go through to find experienced actuaries. That process funnels to an in-person interview.

At the time, I had applied for a job with a company in Topeka. The company flew my wife and me to Kansas City, where the director of human resources picked us up at the airport and brought us to our hotel in Topeka, the Clubhouse Inn. During that hour-and-a-half drive, the director tried to share positive aspects about living in Topeka and the area in general. He exited 470 at the Gage exit so he could drive up Wanamaker and show us all the businesses from south to north. Not being a shopper, I was trying to feign interest. My wife, stuck in the back seat, was trying to avoid getting car sick.

At the time, we lived near a different capital city that was about twice as large as Topeka (and still is, I believe). We had decided long before this that we preferred smaller communities and not the hustle and bustle of large cities. So, it was ironic that the director tried to impress us with Topeka’s wares.

The next day, I went into the office for what turned into an all-day interview by different groups of people. My wife was set up with a local realtor to drive around the city to check out potential housing options. To say she was less than enthusiastic would be an understatement. Ultimately, I was offered and accepted the job, and I moved to Topeka. My wife and son moved after the school year ended.

These memories all flooded back as I drove west on 17th Street and needed to go south to get home.  The logical road choice would have been Wanamaker. However, it was close to the end of the workday, and seeing the traffic on Wanamaker, I decided to call an audible and drive further west to Urish, then head south. I figured driving a little further west to avoid extra traffic and stoplights was worth it.

“Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven.” - Deuteronomy 9:1 ESV

“Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” - Matthew 14:13-21

Some people like the hustle and bustle of large cities, along with the amenities and attractions they offer. Similarly, some people prefer larger churches and the amenities they offer, like stadium seating and fog machines. There are also those, like me, who prefer churches with smaller gatherings of believers. What matters is worshipping God in the way He prescribes.

“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” - Matthew 22:37