Well, I had been a part time secretary in a church for 7 years. It was a good job while the kids were still in school. It allowed me to work hours that matched their school hours. As a matter of fact, I was able to start at 7:00am and be done by the time they got home from school. But suddenly, Gwen was going to college and it was clear that I needed to find a full time job. I had been looking for a few months, but had really not found anything. It was a busy, busy time. I was preparing to lead a mission trip with 12 youth to an Indian Reservation in Minnesota. I also had a vacation planned to visit with my mom before that trip. We were packing Gwen's stuff, and basically, things were just crazy. One day I saw an ad in the local paper for a full time secretary at a church in a nearby town. Here's the thing. I was once a member of that church and both of my kids had been baptized there! I had a bit of a history with them. So I quickly dashed off a cover letter and faxed my resume to them.
The next day I got a call for an interview. Needless to say, I fit this into my very crazy schedule.
After that interview I wasn't very confident that I would get a call back. The person who interviewed me didn't seem very excited when she heard that I was a former member. But the next day, I got that call to come in for a second interview. I was leaving for Minnesota the next day.
I put the interview out of my mind and left for a very crazy and hectic two and a half weeks. It was sometime in the second week, that my mom's phone rang with a call for me! They were offering me the job. There was flexibility to give two weeks notice on my current job, and to also work the new job in the afternoon hours! (They were desperate to have a new secretary. They had lost 2 people in the last six months and had been using volunteers for most of the summer). I gladly took this job.
And it ended up that I actually stayed at this job for the next 12 years!
Now here is the part of this story that makes it such a JESUS story! During the first week I worked in this office, I noticed that the fax machine was not working. I tried to get it to work, without success. When I mentioned it to the person training me (who happened to be the person who interviewed me) she seemed so surprised. It turns out that my resume was the only response they got to their ad for the job! They had no idea that the fax machine had mysteriously broken AFTER my resume came through. I am certain that Jesus has a way of making sure that the right person ends up in the right job. Or should I say, that I got exactly the job that I was supposed to have.
Yes, this is an encouragement to me since I am, once again, in a job search. So I will continue to send out those resumes and trust that everything will align when it is the exact right job for me. But as a reminder, I need to point out that I still need to do my work. I have to keep on looking and keep on applying. With that, I know that the doors will open when the time is exactly right.
Jesus, thank you for showing me your hand in my job searches. Holy Spirit, encourage all that are job searching right now. Jesus you are willing to guide and direct us when we ask. Thank you for your care and concern for every detail of our day to day life. Jesus, thank you that you will use everything - even Fax machines to accomplish your plan for us! And, thank you, once again, for the encouragement to share these stories. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment