By Brad Garner, Urantia Foundation, Arizona, United States
“No chick may be had without the shell, and no shell is of any worth after the chick is hatched.” 48:6.32 (554.6)
As a lifelong second-generation student of The Urantia Book, I’m the newest addition to the staff of Urantia Foundation. Until a few years ago I was an employee of the federal government, working on various natural-science projects and helping publish that material online. It was a rewarding job, and I am grateful for both the salary and the experience it provided me.
But to be honest, after 15 years it was becoming humdrum (there’s a lot of paperwork). Moreover, it was the very distilled essence of the secular world, and that was becoming problematic in my midlife; no one on any team—in any hall or during any speech—ever uttered a word about metaphysics, philosophy, the inner life, and certainly not God.
Mindful of the warnings about secular totalitarianism in Paper 195, my favorite, I chose to make the leap out of the wastelands of the secular world. The shell had served me well; but I felt as if I had metaphorically hatched. It was time to be about other business.
Not long after that personal sea change, I was singularly blessed to meet the love of my life. Ruthie and I married one year ago. Then along came an opportunity to begin helping Urantia Foundation with the website, using the computer skills and project management craft I’ve accumulated through degrees, books, and the school of hard knocks—wisdom borne of tribulation as declared in Section 7 of Paper 48.
This year Urantia Foundation offered me a full-time position, meaning I can contribute in an even more focused and enduring way. I am grateful to join the team, and I look forward to furthering the mission of seeding The Urantia Book and its teachings globally.