Enter the Promised Land

Okay, so Santa Barbara might not be the promised land but it sure is beautiful.

For the last 4 months I've been at a job I just don't care for, have been burnt out and beaten up in ministry, and my health has also taken a huge hit. My mom tried for the last 2 months to convince me to go on anti-depresants. I refused and told her I wasn't depressed, just sad. She laughed at that and told me to get the wonder drug. She shook her head at me when I went to the doctor last and didn't mention my depressive symptoms. I know secretly she wanted to go to the doctor with me so she could point all of this out to him. Instead I talked for 20 minutes with the doctor about Ethiopia. Turns out he spent 2 years there before coming back to the states to attend med school. I enjoyed that conversation much more than having to tell him I was depressed. I just kept praying that things would get better. I asked God for the right job, for direction, and mostly for hope and trust that He knew where I was and what I needed.

This transition kind of all started from a very nice email from a friend. She seemed to be in a hard spot too and was looking for a friend to bring some joy. I responded with, what if we lived together again? We had been roommates, co-workers and friends at Hume so I knew living with her would be a possibility. We both were excited about that idea so I started looking for jobs in the Santa Barbara/Carpenteria area. It seemed like I would only find jobs I was capable of doing but not excited about. My dad told me to look in the newspaper and I laughed at him. I mean, who looks in the newspaper now days? So I compromised and looked in the newspaper online. I found a position I knew was meant for me and even though I had yet to apply or send a resume I gave notice at work that I would be moving. I was that confident. I knew this was an answer to a lot of prayer. I faxed my resume to Brooks Institute of Photography and they called me back a week later. I went through a phone interview and then was called into a face to face interview. A few days ago I got an "unofficial" call asking if I was still interested. I said yes and she said she would call me back in a few days with an official offer from the school. So now I'm waiting for the official offer but am apartment hunting and planning my move. I'm especially excited because it's in Student Affairs, which is what I've been trying to get into for the last year at least.

My mom cried when I told her about the offer. She said she hasn't heard me that excited about anything in a while. I am excited. I know good things are here and more will come. Another cool thing about this is my specialist is in Santa Barbara so now I won't have to make monthly trips up North. It won't be such a big deal to have to go to the doctor. My Granny called to congratulate me and said she knew the man of my dreams is on his way too. I laughed at the comment but we'll see if she has the gift of prophecy :)