Donald "Don" Paul has a reputation at the garage for being honest and consistent. His language, his conduct, the way he treats others, and his ever-present smile are the same at home, at work, and at church. What you see is what you get.

If you need to take your car to the dealer for service, you’d better be sure someone like Don does your service. Dealer service centers pay their mechanics by the job, not by the hour, which leaves room for dishonest workers. The less time spent on a job, the more money one takes home. Don may not be known as the fastest mechanic, but cars rolled out of his bay are done right.

Unfortunately, the conscientious are often ridiculed by those threatened by their integrity. Don was occasionally the brunt of some practical joke, or worse, the object of a rude comment by a fellow worker. That didn’t dissuade him; he continued to do right simply because it was right.

Don dreamed of a job that could adequately support his family without the pressure of a system of dishonesty and compromise, yet he knew that to have God’s direction and blessing, he needed to take care of a few issues in his life. One issue was not returning a faithful tithe. This “minor” inconsistency in Don’s life robbed him of peace. One day he announced to his wife Kimberly (who had been praying for him all along), “I am under conviction that I need to start being faithful with my tithe. I’ve got to live something that I already know I should be doing and haven’t been doing.”

“That decision changed everything for us,” recalls Kimberly, “because it united our family in a purpose for Christ. It was wonderful to see his faith growing in a way that I knew God had intended it to grow.”

Don describes his faith as always growing, based on an intimate relationship with Jesus—one in which an abiding sense of God’s providence and direction is present—a relationship based on prayer.

Don prays and watches for God’s leading and guidance. “The Lord teaches me patience in my life from week to week and month to month and year to year. He doesn’t always answer and give me an immediate sign. It’s a stretched-out leading and guidance,” Don reflects.

Don saw a poster advertising a position for a mechanic in the postal motor pool in Grand Rapids. He jotted down the contact information. Doing fleet work for the government was just the kind of work he wanted.

His imagination began to explore new possibilities for what God might have in store for him. With Kimberly’s support, he stepped out in faith, completed the online application steps, and registered online for the written exam. Don received confirmation and prepared to take the test in Lansing, Michigan. Six weeks later, he received the good news that he had passed and was approved to take the hands-on test.

Don waited, and waited, and waited to receive notification that he had been scheduled for the test. It seemed that God was once again developing his patience and dependence upon him. The notice finally came, and Don was tested in five categories, which he knew he passed without any trouble. But again, he had to wait several weeks to receive the official results.

Things were looking up, even though it had been seven months since he first saw the poster. “The Lord was leading step by step, slow and steady. And that’s just what I needed to teach me some faith,” Don assessed.

Another three months went by before Don was scheduled for an interview. More comfortable working with his hands than answering questions, Don prayed before the interview, asking God to help him do his best.

As part of the interview process, Don toured the shop. His excitement began to build as he imagined working in such a place. But again, he had to wait.

Don was encouraged when they scheduled him for a physical. In good health, he passed with flying colors and was surprised when they later scheduled him for a second physical. When he arrived at the medical office, there was some confusion so he called the manager.

It turns out the second physical was just a paperwork glitch. The call to the manager resulted in a job offer. Kimberly remembers when she learned he was hired and the excitement and joy that filled his face, knowing that God was blessing him. She also recalls how Don's countenance changed when he soon remembered, "You know, they’ve never mentioned Sabbath before in any of the interviews. Not once did it ever come up that there could be work on the weekend, but I feel convicted that I need to call him back, even though I’m hired, and let them know that I’m a Seventh-day Adventist and that’s important to me."

"He called the employer back and said that he felt God wanted him to mention that, and [asked], ‘Would that be a problem?’ To see him go from such joy to such dejection when he realized that the Sabbath was going to be an issue, and his dream job may be taken away, [was difficult]. I was proud of him because he said to the man, ‘Sabbath is important because it is who I am—it’s who God made me to be; and you’ve hired me because I am the person I am—because I honor God. If I agreed to work on the Sabbath, then I wouldn’t be the person you want in your employ.’

“And so, Don stood for his convictions, and I’ve never, ever, been prouder of him in my entire life,” Kimberly expressed.

The manager said he would see if accommodations could be made and would call back in an hour. Don and Kimberly prayed. Had all this effort and work over the past year come to nothing? No, it wasn’t possible; they had felt God leading the whole time.

By faith, they left to see the house where they were making arrangements for Don to live during the week until their house in Coldwater sold. They barely traveled one block when the manager called.

“We really want you to work for us,” he began. “There won’t be any Sabbath issues. We’re going to work that out. Show up January 10 for orientation, and we’ll go from there.”

Don reported for orientation and that went well, but when he arrived for work on the fourth day, he became nervous. He learned they had never had a Sabbath-keeper work for them before; he was the first. The next day his heart sank when he learned he was scheduled to work on Saturday, just two weeks after he began.

“We didn’t know what to do,” Kimberly recalled, “except go to our Father in prayer. He came home that weekend very sad, thinking that maybe this job was going to end after all.”

Don remembers the frustration: “I had been on the job five days, and I didn’t know if I was going to have a job the next week or not. So, we made a prayer request at church, and we went on in faith from there.” Despite this setback, they were convinced God had designed that Don should have this job.

The Pauls contacted Vernon Alger, Lake Union public affairs and religious liberty department director. His counsel was helpful, although not very encouraging. Vernon reported the church had not had much success in that area, and encouraged them to pray and call upon others to pray. He assured them that if the job worked out, it would only be through God’s intervention in response to prayer.

Don returned for his second week of work, not knowing if he would have a job past Friday. On Tuesday, his manager asked how serious Don was about Saturday. Don assured him that being a Seventh-day Adventist and following the Lord in this way was his religious conviction, and he appealed for accommodation.

Don’s manager thought for a moment, and then informed Don about their auxiliary garage in Muskegon that did not do service on weekends. Coincidentally, that same week, a Muskegon employee requested a transfer to Grand Rapids. According to policy, employees with seniority had first option. On Wednesday, a meeting was called to announce the opening and to give opportunity to submit requests for transfer. Again, Don had to wait. Friday morning Don learned he was the only one who had put in a request.

The transfer paperwork could have taken weeks, maybe months, and he was still faced with being scheduled to work the next day, Sabbath. Miraculously, his manager filed the necessary papers that afternoon, and by five o’clock Don was an official employee of the Muskegon facility with Saturdays off.

God accomplished the impossible.

Don's faith continues to grow, but he discovered that living by his convictions and being true to a conscience rightly trained gave a sense of peace and assurance, and opened up unimaginable possibilities.

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director.