CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – In my life, I have much to be grateful for. One of those things is my career. This weekend I am celebrating my 40th year in broadcasting.
Too many of us, myself included, are defined by our work. “What do you do?” is one of the first questions when we meet someone new. Rare is the person who thinks of me as more than a voice on the radio.
But I also believe that God made us, each one of us, for a purpose. And I think this – the informing and occasional entertaining that I do behind this microphone – is my purpose. And I’m grateful that my purpose was revealed to me early on in life. Its given me direction. That’s been a blessing.
I also have a lot of sympathy for people who don’t know what their purpose is yet. I’d counsel patience. I remember going off to college, and knowing exactly what I was going for, and that I intended to follow this career path once I was finished. I remember other friends who didn’t know what they wanted to do with their lives when college arrived. They enrolled in general studies. Some landed in grad school after that. They’re in their 40s and 50s now. Almost all of them figured it out.
There was one person from much earlier in my career – I’ve long since forgotten her name – who I offered a part-time job to. I wanted her to read the news on Saturday mornings. She said she could not accept. As an observant Jew, she would not work on the sabbath. At the time, I thought she was foolish. We broadcasters accept early in our careers the 24/7 nature of our business. But these days, I’ve come to admire her. I work on some Sundays, and almost always do my writing after church. I’ve some to admire people who set aside one holy day each week.
But overall my complaints are few, and the satisfaction that comes from my career is immeasurable. The biggest compliment that you can give me is the gift of your time. If you find value in the things that I talk about, thank you. I hope we’ll spend these moments together well into the future.
Chris Conley
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