God just handed me (us) the ultimate plot twist.
Allow me to recap our last year, using God's method of opening doors:
In March 2015, Daniel and I took a leap of faith by having me quit my full time, 8-5 job. I wasn't happy working there, and because I led a call center, I came home most days unwilling to talk about my day or have a conversation about anything for that matter. But even more than the effects it had at home, God was calling me to something entirely different: writing. God was calling me to write in order to connect with and build up the adoption community. So I quit my job in order to have more time to focus on writing my story and pursuing God's plan for my life. (Read more about my first leap of faith here).
Door #1:
Due to the fact that I had no real professional writing experience, I had to pick up a part time job so we could make ends meet. I got a job working at Nabholz Environmental Services as a project management assistant. Basically, I process invoices, put asbestos surveys and Phase I Environmental Site Assessments together, and turn in workers' time sheets. Not exactly what I'm passionate about, in case you didn't know. But, I've worked there patiently for a year now (about 20-25 hours per week) waiting for another door to swing open.
On top of pursuing my dream to write and working my hourly job, I've also been chasing after an event I'm passionate about: Walk for the Waiting. Last year, around the same time I quit my job, I was on the planning committee for the Walk. My job was event coordinator, so I made sure everything on the day of the event ran smoothly. I LOVED the people I was working with, and more importantly, the mission of the Walk to find a family and future for every waiting child in the state's foster care system. Walk for the Waiting 2015 went fantastic, and we were only a little bit shy of reaching our fundraising goal.
Door #2:
Fast forward to September of last year. I had been working at Nabholz for about six months, and I received word that I would be promoted to chairperson of Walk for the Waiting! God blessed me immensely with the Walk: they offered to pay me for chairing it (a huge blessing for my husband and I, as we were struggling to make ends meet after a bout of hospital visits); I've had the opportunity to grow as a speaker by sharing my own adoption story, and I've grown closer with the most amazing team of talented Christ followers helping me pull it all off.
Door #3:
That same September that I became chair of the Walk, I had also been working hard on sending samples of writing to different online publications. One day, I heard back from two websites on the same day: Adoption.com and Adoption.net. Both websites offered me a job as a regular writer for their website! I suppose you could say the rest is history, as Adoption.com publishes my writing a few times a month. I am so thankful!
In between my balancing act of three jobs, my husband and I also have a life to attend to. This blog post is largely about my jobs... but I would like to take a moment to note the successes of my husband: Over the last year, he has become a fully licensed teacher in the state of Arkansas, gotten trained and qualified to teach high school level math (AP calculus, pre-calculus, geometry, etc), as well as Intro to Engineering (Project Lead the Way) and Computer Programming! On top of his full time job, he has also started woodworking!! He takes project orders from friends and coworkers, building necessities for his school (like a staircase for the stage), or furniture for personal use (like the shelf he built for our living room, or building a picnic table for the school janitor). He is a jack of all trades and he has a lot to do with maintaining my own sanity!
Anywho, on to...
Door #4:
On February 1, 2016 we closed on our home and became first time homeowners! Now we have a little piece of paradise to call our very own. This was a HUGE door that God opened for us as we house hunted for months and months until we found the perfect home for us. Praise God for His provision!
Now, fast forward to today.
Today, I put in my notice at Nabholz to take another God-driven leap of faith: as a news anchor for a radio station. This is an entirely new field than what I was pursuing, so my decision to take the job wasn't a light one (for myself or my husband).
Here's the scoop:
I went in to Cumulus radio one day this month to be interviewed about Walk for the Waiting. The interview went great, and I stopped to chat with someone I know that works there before I left. In walks Bob Steel, news director for the radio station. Bob heard my voice through the wall and said, "I can train that." Kevin (the guy that interviewed me) asked if I had ever considered a career in radio. I was dumbfounded and immediately started tripping on my words like, "Umm.. I. Maybe? What the what?!" They went on to explain that the job opening was for a weekend news anchor, an hourly paid position with the promise of great public speaking training and amazing networking opportunities (oh, and bad coffee - that was made clear). I left the radio station with a job interview scheduled for the following Monday.
My interview took two hours. I got a tour of the entire building, was introduced to anyone that was available to meet me (the interviewee), and even started practicing recording news segments on a mic.
Door #5:
I got the job offer the very next day. Hence, the plot twist.
Now, here's the really good part: where I see God in all of this.
For a little background on me: I initially went to Mizzou as a Journalism major. I aspired to be the next Giuliana Rancic. My parents had dreams of seeing me on television, so when I changed my major from Journalism to study Psychology and Sociology, nobody was exactly thrilled about it. A lot went in to my decision to change majors: part of it was my parents' big divorce bombshell that hit me like a train freshman year, and the other was combining that effect with my overwhelming curiosity and need for closure regarding my birth parents (I hadn't met them yet). I desperately wanted to learn more about people and why they do the crazy things that they do, so I switched my major.
Now, back to present day. I didn't walk into that radio station looking for a job. I walked in there to talk about what God has called me to talk about: adoption and foster care. I walked in there to bring awareness to Walk for the Waiting, and to start a conversation about the orphan crisis going on in our very own backyard. And then, in walks God, opening exquisite doors like that's what He does or something.
I have been absolutely BLOWN AWAY by how God is orchestrating events in my life. A tragic event like the beginning of my parents' divorce caused me to change my major, but in all His grace and glory, God finds a way to bring me back full circle. What a unique and out of left field opportunity to grow as a public speaker and start a conversation among thousands for the sake of our most vulnerable population. What a unique platform to grow into on behalf of waiting kids.
Maybe He's calling me to this radio gig to redirect my career. MAYBE I'll become a radio personality with better hours! Or maybe God has me here to learn from the best in order to deliver my story and my message in a more powerful way. Either way, my husband and I are holding hands and taking this next leap of faith together.
Daniel was a whole lot less than thrilled when he learned what hours I'd be working at the radio station. It took him a few days to see where God was in all of this. His thoughts were, "God, you're taking my wife away from me every Saturday and Sunday morning - the only two days I have off to sleep in!" In my husband's defense, I am a horrible morning person, and he's right when he says he'll probably be the one helping me get out of bed at 4am to get to the station by 5. But, I consider the morning routine another leap of faith... I'm leaping with the faith that I'll be able to re-train my body to be a morning person. Pray for us.
So, that's where we are, and where God is taking my Kingdom work this season. He truly is the Master of Plot Twists, and we are excited about this second big leap of faith. Please pray for spirits of boldness as we enter another year of new jobs and uncharted territory!
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