Praise the Lord!

I am gainfully employed! Yahoo!! I have been waiting so long to write a post like this one. Yesterday, I was hired as a receptionist at a local chiropractor’s office. Career? No. Paying gig? Yes! At this point, that is all I wanted. I am so thankful that the hiring manager was able to overlook my master’s degree and give me a chance. My whole plan of working at the Gap just to have a job fell through. Turns out, the Gap isn’t hiring. Turns out, most retail stores are not either. Finding a job, any job, was much harder than I initially thought.

If you are one of those individuals who is still under the illusion that our economy is fine, then try job searching. Clint and I have been enormously blessed to not be in the hard situations as many other job searchers out there. It all became extremely real to me when I was in the career center and within a span of 30 minutes, I saw 8-10 people come in to file for unemployment because they had just been laid off that day! I’m sure many of these people have families to feed and mortgages to pay. It hasn’t just affected the laborers or blue collared workers; it goes all the way up the ladder. More than I think we will ever realize.

Our country is hurting and I believe will continue to hurt for a few years. Overall, we are a very selfish country. I think this is the time to reach out to those people who are hurting and help them. I think it’s time for our priorities to change. (And I’m speaking for myself as well.) We need to stop spending money on ourselves for things we think we need. Instead, spend that money on others who are actually in need. Or, if you are struggling with money yourself (as many of us are), giving of your time is always free. I think we should all answer the call from our President to take action and quit waiting for someone else to do something about it. But more importantly, as Christians, God calls us to do this.

These past 4 months of job searching have been a true test of my patience, priorities and my pride. I really have learned a lot about myself through this process. I am so appreciative to my family and friends for supporting me through this time. No matter where this job may lead me, I am just so grateful to have one because so many out there don't.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine.” ~1 Peter 1:6-7