In 1963, Alvin and his family found their faith in God. Excited and determined, they set out on a new life. Unfortunately, Alvin’s present job as a baker consumed long hours of his family time. So, he began to search for new employment that would allow him to spend more time with his family as they grew in their newfound faith. After some struggle, a job was found that afforded more time, but – offered a lower wage. Alvin took it, and was glad to get it.

His new job was as a bakery manager for an industrial catering company. He was to be responsible for providing fresh-baked products for twenty-eight mobile units, two lunch counters as well as providing 1500 desserts items. Now, I’m not a cook, but that sounds like quite a task!

On his first day as Alvin prepared to go to work, he was appalled to discover that the former manager had mislaid critical recipe amounts and guidelines. He didn’t know where to start. Alvin turned to others for help. Some of them stubbornly offered none. His back was against the wall. Desperate for help, Alvin closed the bakery doors and got down on his knees, explaining his problem to God and pleading for help.

Finishing his prayer, Alvin paused for just a moment, then stood up, took a deep breath, lit his ovens, and went to work. Amazingly, all through that day his mind was flooded with ideas, figures, and amounts that just came out of nowhere. By the end of the day, he had completed his assignment exactly, nothing short, nothing left over.

The supervisor summoned him into his office and said, “We have never had so many favorable comments of our bakery service in one day. After only one day we’ve decided to increase your salary. You’ve done a marvelous job.”

- And so will we, when we learn like he did to counsel with the Lord in all our doings, even the mundane ones, and learn that those flashes of inspiration that we call ideas, many times they come from God.