This Time I Did Go In

On November 28th, 2017, I posted my blog titled, "I Knocked, It Opened, but I Didn't Go In" (For order of events sake, if you have not read this previous blog, consider skimming that one before continuing your read with this).

Had I accepted the previous job offer, my start date would have been January 8th, 2018. I did decline the position, & had to rely on Lamentations 3:25 hard. It says that the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. I know and live with the mindset that He makes all things in my life work together for good because I love him & am called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

With that, in November I decided to stop job searching & wait on God's timing. I thought, maybe I'm not supposed to have a career, regardless of my college degree. I majored in Human Communication Studies, which concentrates in research & public speaking, so to find a career in this field will always be my aspiration. But, I am also a Marine Corps wife, which concentrates in traveling, making it difficult to obtain a long-term career in any one place considering we have already moved two times in the last seven months. I know the territory that comes with this & it also helps that almost no other wife I know has a "post-college real job" either. We wives do a great deal of "hurry up and wait." We can get orders (of our husband's) to pack up & move with next to no notice time, only to be informed (after finished packing) that plans have changed & the wait time is now months. This makes it all the more challenging for us wives to obtain a typical "Monday-Friday 9am-5pm" job that most individuals have.

Many of us find part-time, no college experience needed, retail/babysitting gigs just to keep us occupied. But it can quickly fashion into a self-comparison game toward those who have the opportunity to use their college degrees. My marine friends and I sometimes have to deliberately sit down together and verbally list aspects of our not so "real jobs" that we are grateful for. There are plenty. And if those aspects aren't enough to someone looking from the outside in, simply knowing that we are not them, is enough. The sacrifices we make as marine wives are and will always be different from those made from others in a non-military lifestyle, but neither one is a greater sacrifice. Just different.

On a Monday in January, I received an unexpected, not sought after notification of a job opening for a Code Researcher. That Monday was on January 8th, 2018.

The position of this Code Researcher is a work-from-home, take with you wherever your home is located kind of career. It deals heavily with communication and in-depth research, which is right in my field. I applied, completed & passed the required tests, accepted the job offer, & began my training. I am roughly 85% fully trained and will be starting within the week. This career allows me to orient and tailor my work schedule around my life "schedule," or lack thereof (Yes, I still do have deadlines for my projects). One of the best parts? Our home office window overlooks our winter pictured lake view (cover photo above) with the geese playing in the fountain, so I always have a beautiful sight to see.

When I cannot find the most fitting words to say, "wow God, your love never fails" always seems to suffice. So.... Wow God, your love never fails.

I use a binder to organize my various research information & a hour-by-hour/week-by-week planner to aid in my overly organized tendencies (& to help with deadlines), BUT, I now write everything in pencil. I cannot change pen (usually). And one of the Marine Corps mottos is to be "Semper Gumby," meaning "Always Flexible."

So thank you, God, for teaching me (by trial & error) to be Semper Gumby in this lifestyle. Thank you for hearing my aspirations & providing them to me in such a unique approach & on your watch.