Getting Caught Up

Wow! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind! So, let’s get caught up!

Remember when I posted about the conference I attended and the call I made just before our daughter was born? So, here is how all of that played out…

After I returned from maternity leave, I applied for two positions and didn’t get them. So, I decided to stop searching on my own, and start focusing on where God wanted me to be. So, for the remainder of the year, I focused on doing my day job the absolute best that I knew how. And, I asked others how I could improve, so that I would continue to grow and develop and succeed.

All that said, I also made a commitment during the conference. I committed to a project that had to save or generate at least $30,000 for our organization. And, I had a passion for increasing the skills of our sales force. Our market was experiencing significant change due to the economic and healthcare environment. So, we needed to invest in our employees so that they had a better opportunity to make a true impact.

While I won’t get into all of the details of our project, I will say this… It was a true team effort. I had the awesome opportunity to meet with amazing people across our organization. And, one of the people I had the chance to work more closely with was the gentleman that I called as I was starting my maternity leave.

See, he was running this project on innovating our market model. And, I was super excited about the opportunity to work with him. So, when I started on this project, I wanted to see if there was a way to stay connected to his team in order to enhance their work and not duplicate efforts.

Enough with the boring details, here are the results – I got a new job!!! That work that we did on the project helped me grow and develop and gain new contacts. All of that helped to prepare me for these new roles that opened up in the middle of this year. And, now I get to work on a small team of amazingly talented people on making a true difference to our organization…

HOW COOL IS THAT? 

You may wonder… What does that have to do with God? Well, let me explain.

See, when I got back from maternity leave, I was running away from what I knew could be a tough situation. So, I was looking for any out I could find. But, God had a different plan. He knew that I had more to learn. I needed to be patient. I needed to understand that I was exactly where He wanted me to be. And, I needed to trust Him.

What’s amazing is that, toward the end of last year, I was able to see why He wanted me to wait. He had a different plan for me. These new roles were being created, and He had put me in the place I needed to be to get the training, experience and relationships necessary to be competitive for the role. And, when the positions opened, I could so clearly see the Hand of God working to help me prepare.

Even with all of this, I still sat and prayed about the position. This meant more travel, more time away from my husband and our children. Was this truly what God wanted me to do? As I would quietly sit, pray, and ask God for guidance, I would feel almost a calm come over me. It was almost as if there was no question – or – the question was answered. This was where I was to be. Not because of me; only because God had prepared me to be here.

I was paging through the Bible, and I came across this passage:

Romans 12:6-8 (GNTD): So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

While I am starting to get the details of the job figured out, I know God has a greater plan. There is a reason why I am here beyond the actual work that we need to accomplish. And, believe me, there is a lot of work! So, I am cheerfully doing great work while I patiently wait for His next direction.