Okay, so by now, most of you know that God answered our prayers to approve Ian’s college loan, and that He did not answer my prayer to get the job I interviewed for last Wednesday.
You also know that my update from Monday was filled with sorrow and hurt but all the while I knew the Holy Spirit was telling me that God is in control.
I received so much encouragement via email, phone and comments here on my blog, and I am so very truly thankful for everyone that has kept me and my family in their prayers.
I wanted to let you know that Yes, God is in control, He always has a plan, and when He closes one door, He opens another, we must remain hopeful and have faith in Him.
When I woke up on Tuesday, I decided that I had cried and mourned enough and I needed to continue searching for a job. As I was searching the web, I received a phone call from a company I applied to (days before I applied for the other job I didn’t get) and they were interested in interviewing me, was I still interested in the position…Uhm, let me think for a moment…YES!!! (even though I wasn’t sure what position this one was for, where it was or what the company did, because I had literally applied to about 50 jobs online in the past few weeks).
She told me the starting salary (which granted is half what I made with my former employer – but most likely it’s also half the amount of stress and half the travel time and since right now I’m not bringing in anything, half sounds just fine to me!)
She told me they would be meeting with several other applicants over the next 2 weeks and gave me some options for interview dates, I picked today, this way it wouldn’t be too early, and not to far into the process either.
I have to be honest, I wasn’t too excited and didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I didn’t tell anyone aside from my husband, kids and my mom. I almost didn’t go because I was not able to get to sleep last night (the menopause is raring it’s ugly head again) and a headache that started yesterday was gaining momentum. I hemmed and hawed and tossed the idea of rescheduling, or not even calling them, but all the while I felt something urging me to get up, have my coffee and get my butt in the shower.
So, I got ready, got my paperwork together and headed out the door with a ‘oh well, what have I got to loose’ attitude. When I pulled up to the building, I felt as though I didn’t stand a chance, this place just seemed too cutting edge and the fact that I’d been out of the loop for a few years made me feel as though I was wasting their time, but through the doors I went.
After introducing myself to the receptionist, I was given what looked like 10 sheets of paper to fill in. This, and the fact that I noticed a few other “visitors” that had been there the past few days that were there for interviews set my nerves to high alert. I started filling in the paperwork, made stupid errors, like putting information on the wrong line – duh – and then as I finished page 2, noticed the other papers were not for me, but for other applicants. Great, just great, now I know this isn’t going to go well and figured if nothing else, at least I was up early and dressed!
I met one of the managers, great guy, very nice, easy going and I felt like I made a good impression on him. (before I forget, let me interject here – if you use Monster or Yahoo or any other online job search, make sure your profile is up to date and correct. it appears mine was from 2006, and said I was looking for a position as a Supervisor/Manager which I while I was back then, I’m not right now, so this probably explains why I probably haven’t gotten any return phone calls!!!) Well, I guess I did make a good impression, because he wanted me to meet his director and she too was so nice, easy going, up front, business savvy and smart and I really enjoyed talking with her. I felt like we connected and she said I should be hearing from them sometime next week.
I left feeling much better than when I arrived and I could see myself working there. It’s such a nice building, everyone seemed so friendly and happy to be there.
Well, I drove home thinking if I get it great, if not, no problem – except for the traffic because their office is just a few blocks from the NJ Turnpike which gets a ton of traffic. I called my hubby and told him it went good and I should know in a few days, then when I got home, I told my sons about the interview. About 20 minutes after I got home, the phone rang, my son picked it up and handed it to me. I asked who it was and saw on the caller ID it was the company. Oh my gosh…could it be?? So soon?? Oh yes it could, they offered me the job and wanted to know if I needed a few days to consider the offer!!! Hmmm, uhmmm, how about NO I don’t need time to think it over and YES I want the job! Their next question, when can I start? My answer, what time do you want me there I’m only 15 minutes away!!
I start Tuesday! Can you believe it? I can! PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSING FLOW! He had His plan all along, I let my plans get in the way. Granted, I won’t be able to walk to this job, but even with traffic it was only a 15 minute ride, and this place is so much bigger and there is room for advancement and the benefits are excellent (at least the ones I know about so far) and I’m just so excited – can you tell?
How awesome is God? This is where the song, “sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers” starts playing in my head, followed by, “God is in control”, along with some, “yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord” and rounded out with “our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above, with Wisdom, Power and Love, our God is an awesome God!!!!!!!!!”
So, I said all this to say, for those of you out there who are saying, “when God, when?”, know that He does hear you and has a plan for you. It is in His time. On Monday, I did not want to hear these words, even though I heard them in my spirit. It’s okay to cry out to God, to tell Him how you feel and let yourself mourn for a bit. It’s important to remember that while you are crying and mourning that He is in control and to submit your will to His. He will give you beauty for ashes, and joy for your tears (Isaiah 61:3).
Stay encouraged, reach out to friends and fellow believers and grab the hem of His garment and don’t let go!
Father, Master of the Universe, Creator of all things seen and unseen, I humbly thank You and praise You for blessing me with this new job. I thank You for blessing Ian with his college loan so he can continue his education. You have blessed me and my family in so many other ways this past week and for so many years, no words could ever express my joy and thanks. Help me Lord to seek You first and to remain hopeful and stand in faith that no matter what I see, what I hear or think, You and You alone are in control, have my best interests at heart and want to bless me. Lord, help those who cry out to You and bless them according to Your will and riches in heaven, in Jesus’ mighty name, amen.