. . . that is the question

Lately, I have had the topic of ‘questions’ on my mind. Really, that is nothing unusual for someone in my line of work. In order to get answers you need to ask the right questions.

However, this past week the tables were turned, and I was in the uncomfortable position of answering rather than asking the questions. The experience taught me a lot.

On Tuesday, a journalism student from the University of Nevada, Reno interviewed me for a class assignment. He had been asked by Professor Felten to go to various local newspapers and ask professionals about their interviewing skills. First of all, I was a little nervous because, although I take great pride in my professional work . . . heck kid, I’m still trying to finish my own degree!

Second, he started asking me about my opinion on city council decisions, for ‘juicy’ stories about city councilmen and whether or not any of them had tried to ‘schmooze’ me. I thought about those questions for a little while, knowing exactly what answers he wanted from me. He didn’t get them.

The experience weighed on my mind throughout the rest of that day and was still fresh in my mind as I went home that night.

When people ask questions, they usually know what they want. Sometimes it is a search for genuine understanding. Other times it is a request for validation – “does this dress make me look fat?” or a need for the comfort that comes from commitment – “are we dating?”

More often than not, the questions are a little more complex than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and we don’t necessarily get what we want in the words. For these questions, the answers are never just in the response. They are in the experience.

Sometimes the questions don’t have a real answer. At least not yet.

“Why do you have to move?” the neighbor girl asked. The truth was that I had been asking myself the same question for months.

I think that my experience with the UNR student gave me a little more insight into what our Heavenly Father must think sometimes when we ask him questions.

“Why?” we ask on bended knee. And we usually know what answers we want. We want finality. We want to know exactly what is going on and when the blessings will come. But guess what? . . . We may not get them. The answer is, more often than not, in the experience. God knows what He has in store for us. We just have to find out for ourselves.

My best advice for this UNR student is to go out and just keep interviewing. I can give pointers and direction from my own experience, but I cannot teach him how to be a good interviewer. That is learned in the experience. He will have to get used to not getting the answers that he wants. And he might stumble through a lot of really bad interviews before he learns. But eventually, with a little more experience, he will get at the truth.

And eventually, I will figure it out too.