New Beginnings

2020 has been a strange year.  I can’t think of any other way to describe it.  God has humbled me and changed me in ways that I could not have predicted.  Change has been all around me.  Sometimes, it’s hard to catch my breath.

While sitting at home during my job’s shutdown, I was feverishly looking for a job.  I perused employment websites looking for a position.  Any position.  Through that time, the good Lord kept me.  He sent the right people to me.  He used them to bless me financially to keep me afloat.  I never went hungry or had utilities turned off.  Although I love to float in the pool, this floating was uncomfortable for me.  Yes, I was well taken care of but unsettled.  I learned, really, truly learned, that all of my help comes from God.

On June 1, I was elated to go back to work.  Understandably, many parents were reluctant to send their children to school.  COVID-19 has taken many lives.  It’s an unseen enemy that can be transmitted silently by well-intentioned people.  The decrease in my caseload stressed me out.  I continued my job search.  One day, a random job popped up.  I quickly submitted my application.  A couple of days later, I was called in for an interview.

My first thought was that I needed to do a practice interview with my cousin.  She is a self-proclaimed professional interviewer.  She hits them hard and strong.  Her claim to fame is confidence in her ability to sell herself.  She prides herself in answering questions that they didn’t ask.  I needed some of that razzle dazzle.  But, I let time slip away and missed out on my opportunity for one-on-one coaching.

The day of the interview arrived, and I was ushered into a room with a table and four chairs.  I sat in a chair.  The woman from Human Resources said the others would be joining us shortly.  <Insert record screech sound>  OTHERS?!?!  Let me just tell ya’ll.  Thank God for face masks.  I know my jaw dropped.  I sent a prayer up to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I needed ALL of them in that room with me.  I got it through.  I got the job.

And although searching for and obtaining a new job was difficult, the hardest part was yet to come.  The new beginnings.  I’m an introvert by nature.  I push and stretch myself to be more outgoing.  My profession demands it.  I was comfortable in my job.  I was comfortable with the people that I knew.  I was comfortable with my office and my kids.  But I knew it was time for a new beginning.

Yesterday was my last day at my old job.  And Monday is the horizon.  It’s a fresh start.  Another change in a life-changing year.  God is asking me to trust Him and the journey.  Every day, I make the choice to lean into Him more.  I make the choice to be uncomfortable.  I make the choice for new beginnings.  #wepreach