I have a job everyone! Yes, it is true! After searching and looking, applying to countless jobs and plenty of interviews. After a whole lot of almost's I finally got a job! God literally tailor made and gift wrapped a fantastic job for me that, get this, I absolutely love! In order for you to appreciate the beauty of God's plan let me go back a ways and fill you in.
So as you know I have been looking for months to find a job. I got pretty close to getting several or at least so I thought but for some reason there was just nothing that ever panned out. I have had people promise me the moon only for them to change their minds last minute. I have had what look like great opportunities that look like the perfect fit dissolve right before my eyes. Anyone who has ever job hunted knows what I am talking about. My story is not much different from the norm. It was so frustrating. I couldn't understand why God was refusing me these jobs that seemed to be so great! It just didn't make sense. But I knew deep down that I had to keep trusting even though I had no clue what he was doing or why he was doing it. A lot of times I would just get down right mad at God that he wasn't doing what I wanted him to do. It just wasn't fair!
Before I ever came down to Chattanooga I had sort of set a schedule for myself that if I didn't get a job in 3 weeks that I was going to head back to VA and give my friends housing me a break from my free loading. This didn't seem hard because there was a job that I had already had 2 interviews with that had both gone really well. I was sure I had it in the bag. The hiring manager had told me that I would be hearing from her that week so I get down to Tennessee and settle in to wait for the call. A few days go by and I hear nothing. I get a little concerned but the week is not over yet so I calm myself and trust God that he will work it out and they will call if I am going to get the job. Finally Friday afternoon rolls around and I have yet to hear anything from the hiring manager. At this point I am tired of waiting and decide to force their hand and make them tell me one way or the other. I call. "Oh hey! Yeah sorry I never called you. We have been really busy. We actually hired someone else. Thanks for applying though and good luck!" That did not go the way I had expected. But in my head I had peace still because a) the excitement for that job had been fading in my mind and b) I knew that that job apparently wasn't the job God had for me. It was a set back and frustrating for sure but I wasn't that disappointed overall so it was back to the salt mines again. I began getting on job search engines again every day trying to find anything and everything I could lay my mouse on. I began feeling my 3 week clock ticking and I began to get nervous. I found 2 jobs online that looked interesting. Both were immediate positions at 2 different furniture stores. The first one I had never heard of but the ad looked promising so I applied. The second I recognized but the ad wasn't as impressive but I applied anyway. Just 2 days later I got a call from the first furniture store. They wanted an interview! I was so excited! We scheduled the interview for later that day and I rushed about getting into my professional costume. It took me forever to find the place (I am not a fan of Google maps). I ended up having to stop and ask for directions. When I finally found it I was over 30 minutes late. The store which was really more of a warehouse was back in the back of a sketchy looking cul-de-sac and the entrance was literally a loading dock with a ramp up to it. Not impressive to say the least. The guy who was supposed to interview me wasn't even there. He had just walked away and no one seemed to know where he was. So some other guy came out and he didn't even realize I was late. So I counted that as a blessing and answer to prayer that they didn't discount me and still interviewed me but I was not impressed with their lack of professionalism. I went through the interview and by the end of it I was hired. I just needed to pass the background check and I could start. I was excited that I had a job and that it meant I could stay in Chattanooga but I was leery of how it would be working at a furniture warehouse in a rather sketchy part of town with all men in their 30s. But I was thankful for the job and I had to trust God that he would provide and protect.
I decided to keep my options open. The warehouse job would be my fall back really. I didn't want to put all of my eggs in one basket either. Judging from the kind of business they ran who knew if they would even remember they had hired someone in a week. So while I waited for the background check to clear I kept looking.
I went over to the other furniture store that I had applied to to see if I could convince them to give me an interview even if they hadn't contacted me back yet. I walked in and walked back in about 10 minutes with an interview set for the next day. I was excited and hopeful. The next day came and I had my interview. I sit down with the hiring manager and the interview begins amiably. He seems impressed with me and is speaking very positively. He then gets to the part about work schedules. Weekends are mandatory. Now something you might not know about me is that when it comes to working on Sunday I am very adamant. I will not do it. If I was a police officer, or fireman, or EMT or nurse/doctor or something that would be different. But my personal conviction is that God set Sunday aside as his day. Not just the morning when church is in session but the whole day. So as soon as the manager informed me that Saturdays and Sundays were mandatory I knew the interview was pretty much over unless I could convince him otherwise. I couldn't. He legitimately looked disappointed for me and genuinely seemed like he wished he could change the rules. I told him not to worry this was not the first time it had happened to so it was fine and he wished me luck. I was positive as I left but I was pretty disappointed as I drove away. I even wondered if I should turn around and compromise my convictions and accept the job. But I knew I couldn't. God had been directing me this whole way and I couldn't just disregard that and throw it all away. So I had to turn it over to God and pray that he would work it out. I still had a job. It may not have been a dream job but it was a paying job. God would provide and protect.
To be continued . . .
So as you know I have been looking for months to find a job. I got pretty close to getting several or at least so I thought but for some reason there was just nothing that ever panned out. I have had people promise me the moon only for them to change their minds last minute. I have had what look like great opportunities that look like the perfect fit dissolve right before my eyes. Anyone who has ever job hunted knows what I am talking about. My story is not much different from the norm. It was so frustrating. I couldn't understand why God was refusing me these jobs that seemed to be so great! It just didn't make sense. But I knew deep down that I had to keep trusting even though I had no clue what he was doing or why he was doing it. A lot of times I would just get down right mad at God that he wasn't doing what I wanted him to do. It just wasn't fair!
Before I ever came down to Chattanooga I had sort of set a schedule for myself that if I didn't get a job in 3 weeks that I was going to head back to VA and give my friends housing me a break from my free loading. This didn't seem hard because there was a job that I had already had 2 interviews with that had both gone really well. I was sure I had it in the bag. The hiring manager had told me that I would be hearing from her that week so I get down to Tennessee and settle in to wait for the call. A few days go by and I hear nothing. I get a little concerned but the week is not over yet so I calm myself and trust God that he will work it out and they will call if I am going to get the job. Finally Friday afternoon rolls around and I have yet to hear anything from the hiring manager. At this point I am tired of waiting and decide to force their hand and make them tell me one way or the other. I call. "Oh hey! Yeah sorry I never called you. We have been really busy. We actually hired someone else. Thanks for applying though and good luck!" That did not go the way I had expected. But in my head I had peace still because a) the excitement for that job had been fading in my mind and b) I knew that that job apparently wasn't the job God had for me. It was a set back and frustrating for sure but I wasn't that disappointed overall so it was back to the salt mines again. I began getting on job search engines again every day trying to find anything and everything I could lay my mouse on. I began feeling my 3 week clock ticking and I began to get nervous. I found 2 jobs online that looked interesting. Both were immediate positions at 2 different furniture stores. The first one I had never heard of but the ad looked promising so I applied. The second I recognized but the ad wasn't as impressive but I applied anyway. Just 2 days later I got a call from the first furniture store. They wanted an interview! I was so excited! We scheduled the interview for later that day and I rushed about getting into my professional costume. It took me forever to find the place (I am not a fan of Google maps). I ended up having to stop and ask for directions. When I finally found it I was over 30 minutes late. The store which was really more of a warehouse was back in the back of a sketchy looking cul-de-sac and the entrance was literally a loading dock with a ramp up to it. Not impressive to say the least. The guy who was supposed to interview me wasn't even there. He had just walked away and no one seemed to know where he was. So some other guy came out and he didn't even realize I was late. So I counted that as a blessing and answer to prayer that they didn't discount me and still interviewed me but I was not impressed with their lack of professionalism. I went through the interview and by the end of it I was hired. I just needed to pass the background check and I could start. I was excited that I had a job and that it meant I could stay in Chattanooga but I was leery of how it would be working at a furniture warehouse in a rather sketchy part of town with all men in their 30s. But I was thankful for the job and I had to trust God that he would provide and protect.
I decided to keep my options open. The warehouse job would be my fall back really. I didn't want to put all of my eggs in one basket either. Judging from the kind of business they ran who knew if they would even remember they had hired someone in a week. So while I waited for the background check to clear I kept looking.
I went over to the other furniture store that I had applied to to see if I could convince them to give me an interview even if they hadn't contacted me back yet. I walked in and walked back in about 10 minutes with an interview set for the next day. I was excited and hopeful. The next day came and I had my interview. I sit down with the hiring manager and the interview begins amiably. He seems impressed with me and is speaking very positively. He then gets to the part about work schedules. Weekends are mandatory. Now something you might not know about me is that when it comes to working on Sunday I am very adamant. I will not do it. If I was a police officer, or fireman, or EMT or nurse/doctor or something that would be different. But my personal conviction is that God set Sunday aside as his day. Not just the morning when church is in session but the whole day. So as soon as the manager informed me that Saturdays and Sundays were mandatory I knew the interview was pretty much over unless I could convince him otherwise. I couldn't. He legitimately looked disappointed for me and genuinely seemed like he wished he could change the rules. I told him not to worry this was not the first time it had happened to so it was fine and he wished me luck. I was positive as I left but I was pretty disappointed as I drove away. I even wondered if I should turn around and compromise my convictions and accept the job. But I knew I couldn't. God had been directing me this whole way and I couldn't just disregard that and throw it all away. So I had to turn it over to God and pray that he would work it out. I still had a job. It may not have been a dream job but it was a paying job. God would provide and protect.
To be continued . . .
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