My year started off with a bang, just not quite the one I wanted. I found out in early January that I did not get into the Second-Degree Nursing Program at Clemson. After an hour, I was completely ok with that. I knew God had a plan for me and realized I had to quit trying to pursue my own.
I've been chasing after a career path in the medical field for quite some time now. It seemed every time I tried to go further in the field it didn't work out for me. Looking back I completely realize that it was all a part of God's plan. Each of those steps is not the path I would have chosen for myself. Throughout this entire journey, I had to rely on God because each decision I made for myself was wrong. Through Him I came to be where I am today.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105
Since my senior year of college, I've had to truly turn to God for direction in my life. If I had gotten into grad school, I wouldn't have moved to Greenville. If I hadn't moved to Greenville, I wouldn't have gotten my job with Hope Reach. If I hadn't had my job there, I wouldn't have met the Martin Family. If I wouldn't have met the Martin Family, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to try and pursue further education. And, if it wasn't for the Martin Family, I wouldn't be able to say,
"I have a job!"
I am so incredibly thankful for the Martin Family. They have done so much for me in the almost two years that I have known them. They invited me in to big moments in their family's lives and helped share in mine as well. As I was leaving their house on the Friday that I received my rejection letter from Clemson, Mrs. Stephanie said, " Don't worry about. If you don't get in, we'll help you find a job. If God closes this door, He will open another one." Little did she know how prophetic her words were.
Less than a month later, Mrs. Stephanie came to me with a job opportunity at the place where she works. Over the next few days, she told me more and more details about the job. All I could think was "this sounds perfect- and it's really different from the medical field so it would be awesome to explore that avenue!"
I went home the weekend of February 8th to do my taxes and talk to my parents about this opportunity. Initially, I was told it would be contract position, which would mean I would have no benefits and have to pay my own taxes quarterly (yuck). After looking at a possible salary and calculating having to pay my own taxes, and buy all the extra insurance, I was still able to budget enough to live on, contribute to savings, and pay off my school loans! I was pumped! As soon as I came back from that weekend, I set up a meeting with the boss of the company.
On Friday, February 22, I had a Skype interview with the boss (it's a good thing it was a skype interview- I was sweating bullets!). After discussing my skill set and why I thought I would be a good candidate for this position, we actually started talking about the job. And this is where the good news begins- it was actually a
FULL- TIME STAFF POSITION WITH SOME BENEFITS
and the salary was a bit more than I thought it would be as well! The phone interview went extremely well, so we then arranged an in-person interview so I could meet the rest of the office and make sure I got along well with them.
After much traveling and sickness, we finally arranged to meet in-person on Monday, March 25. That was an awesome experience. I got to check out the office (where employees work on Macs- score!) and meet the rest of the staff who were amazing.
The next day, I arranged another phone interview with the CEO who lives in NY. We talked for quite a while and it went fairly well! After that, I was just waiting to hear back about the job. On Thursday, March 28, I got an email saying "Welcome!" I just had to send them a few things before the official contracts came out.
I received the official offer of employment on Wednesday, April 3. After looking over it for a few days and talking to the boss on the phone to clarify some things,
I officially accepted the offer of employment
on Monday, April 8, 2013 at 4:08 PM!
On Monday, May 6, 2013, I will officially start working at PPS International as a Project Coordinator for a Major International Company! What will I be doing, you ask? Well, lets just say if I described my job to you, I would feel a lot like Chandler from Friends because nobody will ever remember what I do! The best way to describe it is that I'll be doing logistics (think the UPS commercials) for the North America Branch of a major company!
This past Sunday, I heard a sermon on bold prayer. One of the points was from Luke 7: 23,
"And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."
The preacher then paraphrased that verse by saying "blessed is he who doesn't run away when he doesn't get exactly what he wants- God says no to good, to give us awesome." I never got what I thought I wanted, yet God continued to bless me- with amazing people and opportunities I didn't deserve but by His grace received. There were good opportunities He gave me along the way, but they were all in His plan to get me to awesome!
Oh, and the best part of my new job- they keep Diet Dr. Pepper stocked in the fridge :)
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
