--- id: flying-free-16-use-time-as-your-friend title: Chapter 16 – Use Time as Your Friend category: Career Transition predicted_narrative_arc: crisis-to-calling sentiment: reflective emotions: - faith - determination - renewal - fulfillment keypoints: - Sudden job loss at nearly sixty after board decision post-9/11 - Accepted part-time church role at five percent prior salary - Entered seminary for master's in religious studies after two prior master's degrees - Studied at Dallas Theological Seminary extension then Liberty University Seminary - Found renewed purpose and joy in classes despite age-related doubts summary: Dean Rush describes losing his corporate presidency after 9/11 when the company was broken up, then using the unexpected time to enter seminary and pursue long-desired ministry work at age sixty. tags: - childhood - family - faith - work - peace - warmth - conviction - career-transition - '911' - seminary - ministry-call - gods-timing - crisis-growth - seminary-journey - post-911-change - faith-calling sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 3 updated: '2026-09-08T20:49:33Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: COMPA prefix: COMPA enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: llm pipeline_filename: COMPA_2026-09-08_chapter-16-use-time-as-your-friend.md proposed_topic: Stories lane: Stories description: Crisis creates unexpected time. Dean shows how the period after losing a prestigious job at age 60 became the doorway to seminary and the ministry he had always wanted. corpus_topic: Stories --- # Chapter 16 ## Use Time as Your Friend – Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md --- ### Context for the Reader This chapter opens with one of the most powerful personal stories in the book: Dean’s transition from corporate president to seminary student after 9/11. It demonstrates that the “power of time” during crisis can be used to pursue the calling that was previously impractical. The chapter is a practical guide to using seasons of uncertainty for intentional preparation. --- The Greek word *dunamis* (Δυναμις) means “power of time.” Time involved in a crisis can be a natural healer that develops the inherent power residing within a person to overcome adversity. We can grow in a crisis by relying on God as we experience the power He brings to us when we are in need. The time of uncertainty can become a powerful time for growth and renewal if we allow God to take control. God’s plan for your life may be revealed during a time of personal tragedy when you accept His grace and through faith surrender to His will. If you are in a crisis mode, this may be the time to take advantage of finding out what you are really best suited to do in this life. God’s real expectation for you may be about to be discovered. You may find, as I did, that for the first time in life when a crisis occurs you may have an opportunity to investigate areas never before explored. You are truly free to move into something that you had always wanted to do but never felt was practical. At the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, I held a prestigious position as the president of a large foreign-owned aircraft company. In response to the world-shaking event, the board of directors felt the future of the long-range aviation industry was very uncertain and made the decision to break up the company; I was suddenly and unexpectedly without a job. And yes, it was a bad time in life for me because I was almost sixty years old and I had expected this job to carry me to retirement. Once again it was time to renew my trust in His way and accept that my plan may not be His plan, that my timing is not God’s timing. He led me to take a different direction in my career. Then one day our pastor asked me to go to lunch and, while we talked, he offered me a part-time job at the church. The salary was less than five percent of the salary I was making at the previous company, but it took no time to realize there was an opportunity hiding somewhere in the situation. My wife knew of the desire I had always carried to work in ministry and she encouraged me to go back to school. I entered seminary for what would be my third master’s degree. I had prepared for my career in the corporate world with a Masters in Business and a Masters in Public Administration. If I really wanted to work in ministry, I decided I wanted to dive into a study that could help prepare me. I embarked on a master’s degree in religious studies. The degree would at least prepare me to make that fresh start in a new career. Admittedly, there were times I wasn’t sure my mature brain was ready for new study, but the classes were challenging and they grew on me. I suddenly found myself getting up at five a.m. to study and asking questions I had carried in my mind for years about the Bible. Suddenly life was fun. What had started out as a burden became an objective that was more satisfying than anything I had done in years. In the fall of that year I entered Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) on weekends and found myself way out of practice on my study disciplines. I prayed diligently for the aptitude to pass those first courses and God rewarded me with a B and A. Those grades gave me the incentive to try another course and then another. After a few courses and a lot of prayer, study became more routine. To complete the degree with DTS I was required to attend a couple of classes on campus in addition to the extension courses I attended in my hometown. I chose an intensive course on campus the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I lived on campus and attended classes a full eight hours each day during the week. The professor, Dr. Stephen Bramer, made the Gospels come alive and what I had dreaded became a great week and a wonderful experience. One indication to me that I was not the normal student occurred as I was carrying my suitcases into the dorm for the week. I had two students stop me to ask if I was bringing one of my children in for the classes. They were a bit surprised when I told them the student I was bringing to class was me. The comments about my age only served to make me more determined than ever to complete the necessary courses. Although I had to change schools in order to be available for my work at the church, I eventually did graduate with a Masters in Religious Studies from Liberty University Seminary. I found the work in seminary fascinating and fulfilling. With each successive course it became more apparent that I was in the right field and needed to continue. God has a way of encouraging us in the life He has chosen for us. That makes flying free even more rewarding. Full-time ministry had always been in the back of my mind and for the first time in my life, it seemed now it could be a reality. I could now do whatever I wanted so it was time to make some decisions. It would have been difficult to make that change under previous circumstances. God set the stage and left very little choice for me if I was to be truthful with myself. It was time to stop talking about entering the ministry and time to do something about the opportunity. I stated early in this book that God’s plans are always better than ours, but are seldom comfortable. In the past I had always felt the timing was inappropriate to make the changes that I knew in my heart were right for me. My inability to make a firm decision caused God to choose this tool to push me down the road and follow His path. It is tough to take that unknown path but very important to rely on God’s course. The concern is normal but the faith in following His pathway saves a lot of time. Your passion may not lead you to full-time ministry but it is important to find out where your desire for success leads. It is imperative to follow that desire to the point where you find peace. I know there is some point for everyone where they feel satisfaction with accomplishment. That spot is probably different for each of us. Guess what? As my grandfather used to say, “There is no limit to dreams and if you dream, do it with a desire to reach something special.” Begin thinking about that goal you have always wanted to reach and then begin charting a course to take you there. Use the available time as your friend. If you have a steady job but hate the time you spend working in that vocation, begin plotting a way to replace it with that profession for which you have a special passion. You can avoid the usual guilt found when you think about leaving a stable job by simply developing a plan to attain your desired position. Sometimes you are resistant to change because of the concern about the effect on your family, or your need of income to pay your bills. If you plan sequentially, you can overcome most of those hurdles. It’s hard to just forget having lost a job but you can forget those concerns if you realize you now have an opportunity to fly free of the past. Life becomes much less restrictive. You are now given opportunities that were too dangerous before your layoff or your present circumstance occurred. Use your post-layoff time to your advantage. Analyze the situation and begin considering the action to get you closer to your ultimate goal. Use effective time management. I am aware of a young man who was given notice in May that his job would end ninety days later. He would be paid, have the ability to go out and search for new work, and come and go as he pleased during those ninety days. He spent sixty days feeling sorry for himself, living on the salary he was receiving as if it were going to continue forever, and not working to find another job. With only thirty days to go before his job finally ended, he walked in to his boss and said, “My kids are in private school and I need another month to be able to pay the tuition.” Unfortunately, this is really a common story. This guy had all the tools to fly free and he used up the opportunity to find a new job and was not aggressively seeking new employment. He expected the new job to come to him and that’s not the normal chain of events. If you have been laid off, forced out of a relationship, or forced into a new direction in your life, use the time to your advantage. You may have just been given an opportunity to follow a fork in the road that you would never have taken without this opportunity. The key to taking proper action is to slow down, decide what is happening around you, and then go to the next step. Let’s figure out how to take proper action to rectify your situation. Determine your wish list for what you want to do with your life, determine how you want to live, then formulate your plan to begin the new trek. The timing of your crisis can become the opportune time to make a decision and take action to change directions in your life. It may be the long-sought opportunity to accomplish your dream task in life. Use the time God gives you, even in an adverse situation, to find His plan for your life. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14 (NIV) --- **Next chapter:** Find Calm Air – Fly Free of Turbulence! **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md