© 2023 Gaétan Charland
© 2023 Urantia Association of Quebec
Gaetan Charland
Sainte-Sophie
Many years ago when I was working in my video rental business, several young adults worked for me and I had the opportunity to put into practice the teachings of The Urantia Book on many occasions. It must be said that for me, the primary goal of having a business was to ensure a substantial income that would allow me to participate freely in the adventure that the teachings of The Urantia Book offered me.
Very often, we can provide many services to others without ever having had a look at the result or the consequences of our action. I am going to share with you one of my personal experiences that I had forgotten and which, after several years, came to confirm for me what I had read in The Urantia Book: that the actions are ours and the consequences belong to God.
There was this young employee, Renée, who worked very often in the evening and was responsible for closing the store at 2 a.m. She didn’t have a car and often had to walk home or take a taxi. On several occasions, I offered to walk her home, which she accepted with a slight embarrassment and I would even say with a certain unease that I understood.
One night, as I was walking her home, she had the curiosity or the courage to ask me why I was doing her this favor. I think she was wondering if I had done something else for her, I was not one of those who, because of his power, would have abused an employee.
I assured her that at that time of night for a young woman, my only concern was to do her a favor for her safety. I then told her that one day she could do someone else the favor I had done for her many times.
Several years later, during the commemoration of the death of one of my uncles, Renée was there, because she had known him well and it was on this occasion that she reminded me of my selfless gesture and the scope of this service and of my words that I had said to her one day. After leaving her job at the video store, she moved to another city to live and work there. She became the director of an organization dedicated to health and took advantage of this position to found a non-profit organization that would take care of disadvantaged people. Thanks to her dynamism and her desire to give back, Renée chose to be of service to several other people.
We must never neglect the significance of a gesture made out of selfless love; even a smile can change the course of a person’s life. There are many ways to sow and teach the teachings of The Urantia Book.
I was truly privileged that God gave me this little wink, confirming that the actions are ours and that He reserves the way to produce the consequences.