The back story and God's timing

I wanted to share a bit about the way God has prepared me for and worked out the details of my new job and move back to Missouri.

For about a year, I've struggled with some discontentment in my current situation. There was nothing terrible, but I knew I wasn't thriving in my work and didn't have the passion and interest I used to have. I started to apply for some positions in the area but never seemed to get anywhere.

While I've always been big on job security and having benefits and financial security, this spring I stepped outside of the box and considered something pretty risky. I fought hard for a role I thought was made for me and was willing to accept the risk involved. But I ended up really disappointed.

I found some hope in that disappointment and was reminded that if I thought this particular thing was perfect, then whatever God has for me is even better.

At that point I was determined to stay in my current city. This place has become home, and I have such great friends and community here. But when I was challenged on my insistence on staying, I had to question my motives. After two years of learning about idols, I still missed a very obvious one in my life. I realized I had made my comfort in this city an idol. I wanted to stay here more than I wanted God's plan for me. My prayers always had a "but," i.e. please change this situation but let me stay here.

With that conviction, I opened myself up to looking beyond opportunities in this city. And I found what was even more perfect than the position I fought so hard for. I found a posting for a one-year position at my alma mater working with students in the journalism school and at the city newspaper there. Even six months before, I would never have considered a temporary position like this, but after the experience of preparing to accept some risk with a previous opportunity, the one-year term actually turned out to be part of the appeal of the job.

There was a long process after I found this position and a lot of waiting, even a rejection involved. But God's timing is perfect and He used that time to mold it into the right job for me and prepare me for the possibility of moving.

More to come on this.