God said, "No."

Thank you so much for all of your prayers this week ... for my interview on Monday morning, and during the last 2 days of waiting to hear.


It was a great process.  It would have been a great job.  But, it also would have been a BIG commitment, with major life changes for the family.  So, while I was excited about the possibility, I was definitely praying for the Lord's will.  I have absolutely no desire to go to work full-time unless that is CLEARLY what the Lord is calling me to do.  Now, since the answer for this job was "No.", than we KNOW and TRUST that the LORD has an even better plan.  Can't wait to see what it is!


Now, I'll tell you a little about the fun process that it was ...




I found the job on Craigslist ... it was for the position of Real Estate Assistant.  The posting made it clear that it would be a FUN company to work for.  And, while it was a 40 hour per week position, there was a lot of flexibility in days/hours worked (which would have been wonderful).  The position would have been about 50% of time spent in the office and 50% of time out in the community (taking pics of houses, servicing clients, writing marketing descriptions, etc...).  Everything about the position was right up my alley.


The interesting thing was that the posting did not say which real estate company was hiring. The cover letter, resume, and "creative challenge" (writing a marketing description) had to be sent to an anonymous email.  I know a few realtors in our county, but had no idea which company I was applying for.


When I sent in my application packet, I received an email back from the "marketing director" that said that my documents were unable to be opened.  I had to do a bit of troubleshooting, and discovered that Jim's laptop had a newer version of "Word" for Mac.  So, I transferred my docs to his computer, cut and paste them onto new document files, and sent them off again.  Through this communication with the marketing director, I was able to research her email address and find out which company she worked for.  And ... I did know a realtor that worked in that office.  However, I still had no idea which of the many realtors in that specific office was actually hiring an assistant.


You guessed it.  When I got invited to interview, I found out that I did know 2 of the 3 realtors who I would have been working for.  So, the interview process was fun and non-stressful.  After the interview (with the 3 team members), the lead realtor walked me out, gave me a hug, and told me that she would love to hire me but that it obviously would be a team decision.


I came home and prayed and prayed some more.  I knew that if the Lord wanted me to have this job, that I would be hired.  However, I really didn't know if I was supposed to commit to working 40 hours per week for the next 3-5 years or more.  (That was the commitment they were looking for.)  I had absolute peace that the Lord would show me clearly whether or not I was to do this.


So, when the email came today telling me that they had hired someone else ... I had complete peace.  Even though I was very excited about the job potential ... and we could really use an income some time soon ... I was not disappointed at all.  I knew that this was not the Lord's plan for me right now.


The realtor did tell me that I was #2 of 6 interviewees and 25 applicants ... which made me feel very good.  However, the woman that they hired had 8 years of experience in real estate.  Clearly, they needed to hire the woman with experience in the business.  No hard  feelings there.




So ... 


back to the drawing board ... 


back to craigslist ... 


back on my knees.




While our local school district is not hiring any substitute teachers, Jim is in the process of trying to get on the sub lists of 4 other districts in the county.  We will pray for subbing jobs, even though full-time subbing doesn't even come close to paying our monthly bills.  Jim also applied today for an evening office cleaning position.




God will continue to provide.  


God will continue to guide our steps 
through this unemployment journey.


In March, Jim might be able to work 
the temporary job at the refinery again; 


and in the spring and summer 
we will pray for painting jobs.


Thank you, again, 
for your continued prayers.


We are TRUSTING GOD 
to give us WISDOM
to know HIS WILL
in these uncertain times.