"...Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 2009 and I had just been laid off of a short temporary teaching assignment. Four months earlier, I had just finished getting my single subject teaching credential in history which seemed like it took me forever. My job outlook was bleak. I had entered education at one of the worse times. I began putting in applications everywhere. I must have submitted over 100 teaching applications and did not receive one call back during the summer. Unemployment denied me due to a technical error so I was living off credit cards. My monthly bill was getting bigger and bigger. I was desperate. I began to question whether or not I had done the right thing in quitting my stable job as an administrative assistant to pursue a teaching career. Fear set in as September arrived and the school year began. This meant that most of the few teaching jobs available had already been filled. I reflected on the situation and made up my mind that I was going to trust in God. He had never let me down in other areas of my life so he would come through for me again in this area. I decided to go on a 21-day Daniel Fast. I placed three requests before God and sought Him each day for an answer. I will be honest. It was incredibly hard to trust God those 21-days. I was weak and I was fighting fear and doubt daily. I still kept trusting though. My prayers felt dry, almost like they were hitting the ceiling, but I kept going. A lesson in itself, you won't always feel it, but you keep pushing on anyways. We don't serve God by emotion, but by faith and trust. When those 21 days ended, I still had received no calls from prospective employers. I fought doubt even more than before. Then out of nowhere, about four days later, I received a call from a district close by. They wanted to interview me. I was so excited, yet nervous. I was nervous because this would be my first interview for a teaching position. This might be the only interview I would get that year with the current state of education. I interviewed on a late Friday afternoon. I remember my heart dropping when I walked into the school office and seeing all the teachers interviewing for the same position, some of which had way more experience than me. Then something got a hold of me. A God-given confidence shifted my thinking. This was my job. This job was meant for me and I was going to walk into the interview like this job was already mine. I have to say that out of all of the interviews that I had ever experienced, I never felt such a peace like I did as I sat before those six people on the interview committee. I spoke like I had been teaching for 25 years. Where did this confidence come from? Directly from God. I was certain He was with me. I walked out of that room knowing that God was in control. The following Monday morning, HR called me that I had the job! I finally would have my own classroom and students. The rest, as they say, is history. It has been a wonderful three years at my current school. I have found my purpose in life- working with kids. Everyday I get the opportunity to make a difference. I get to be a light to kids who have had a hard life. I get to hug them when they cry. I get to be a sense of consistency to those who don't have it at home. I get to make kids laugh and sometimes cry (when I call home). They know that I care. As many of you know, I received a pink slip this year. The situation once again looks bleak in the natural realm, but my heart tells me, just like it did three years ago, that God is not done with me yet. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that I am perfectly in the will of a Sovereign God. I am saddened by the current state of education and for those who are being affected by it, but my encouragement is to trust God. When He closes one door, he will most definitely open another. Whether my lay-off is rescinded or something else awaits me, in this one thing I am confident- He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. My friend, whatever you might be facing, know that God will do the same for you. :)
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