The past few months have been crazy. Lee and I have spent a lot of time in prayer and a lot of time in discussions. We found ourselves back in a very familiar situation.
For the second half of the school year, we went back and forth between being sure of my job and not being sure. One day, my job was secure and the next day it wasn’t secure. The first week of May, I got a letter saying that my contract would not be renewed due to funding. Lee and I (mostly Lee) got busy updating my resume and sending it out to schools.
We discussed the possibility of moving to Wake Forest because there are more job opportunities there. We discussed this with some people in the church, along with our family and some close friends. Just last summer, I didn’t have a job and we weren’t sure where to live. Now, we were back in the same situation again. Then, more people in the county were laid off. This would make it even harder for me to get a job in Person County.
However, through all the uncertainty, I stayed very calm. I remembered last summer and how God took care of us by providing me a job. He provided me with a great job. I truly enjoyed working at Woodland. He blessed us and took care of us. It wasn’t in our time, but it was in His perfect time. I knew that He would continue to take care of us, so I was going to put my faith in Him and not worry.
I pursued many teaching jobs and also some nannying jobs. I had an interview first at a private school in Durham. I was unsure of the job at first, but felt better about it after my first interview. Then, they wanted me to come teach a lesson. So, I took half a day off to go teach a lesson at this school. After teaching the lesson, I knew that this school was not right for me. It was encouraging to have a school interested in me, yet it was discouraging because I knew that I could not work there.
Next, I met with a lady who owns a nanny agency. She told me that I had a lot of experience and would have no problem finding a job. The next step would be setting up interviews with families. This kind of job would be a pay cut and I wouldn’t get as much vacation time as I do being a teacher, but I knew I would enjoy it. I ended up meeting with two families and I liked them both. I knew I could have easily worked in either situation.
I also had a job interview at a school in the northern part of Raleigh. This was a 4th grade position at a year round school. It is only 10 miles from the seminary in Wake Forest. Again, I was unsure of it at first, but after some thoughtful consideration, I really wanted this job. I felt like the interview went well. My favorite part of it was how laid back it was.
Then, just last week, I get an email from the human resource department of Person County saying that there is a position available at Woodland. So, I also submitted my resume back to the school I have been working in. Keep in mind, I’m not the only person who lost my job at Woodland or the only person in the county.
So, through all of this Lee and I spent a lot of time praying. We prayed for God to provide me with a job. With Lee in school and only working part time, I have to have a job. We also prayed for God’s direction and guidance in whether or not we should move to Wake Forest. Our biggest prayer was for God to provide me with a job before we went on our vacation.
Well, the day after I interviewed with the year round school in northern Raleigh, they called me and offered me a job!!! I was SO excited. It was a huge burden lifted off my shoulders. I really liked the school. I was also excited about the fact that it’s so close to the seminary and it’s a year round school. So, Lee and I will be moving to Wake Forest the first weekend of July. After a lot of prayer and discussion, we feel like this is the best decision for us at this point.
I am excited and a little nervous about this new school. It will take some getting used to. The school is on a year round schedule and it has different tracks. There are 4 tracks but only 3 tracks are in school at one time. So, when my track is out of school, we have to pack up our room so that the other track can come in and use it. Then, we move to the vacant room when we come back to school. It sounds complicated, but everyone I’ve talked to loves it. I think I’m going to enjoy it too. I will have breaks throughout the year, which gives me more opportunities to see family and friends.
God has once again provided for our needs. He has been so good to us. I only have Him to thank for providing me with a job in education during these tough economic times.
