God Directs Our Paths

I know that God guides and directs me, provides for me and loves me. Over the past couple of weeks this has been incredibly apparent. In the overwhelmingly large city of Raleigh, I had one job offer. I searched for over a week for a place to live. Over that week God gave me sign after sign that I needed to be in New Bern. The happy truth that I was afraid to hear. I didn't have a job offer in New Bern.

But I had a gallery that wanted my art. My dad called to say that my pastor had wanted me to be involved in the new Children's ministry. Cost of living was about half of what it was in Raleigh. Every door I knocked on in the huge city was slammed shut. Except two things: a friendship forged with a Christian over the course of the week, and the job offer at a bakery/sandwich shop.

I walked away from the job offer and went back to New Bern. The next week, a friend from Indiana came for a visit (and potential move) and we went job hunting all week. We filled out 30+ applications.

One evening I stopped in to my grocery store to pick up a couple of things and saw a car I recognized in the lot of a pizza chain. Timmy, a friend I met though my college friends at Craven, had just started working there as a driver. He explained that it was a great job and he enjoyed doing it. Encouraged, I popped into a similar pizza chain the next day and inquired if they were accepting applications.

I could tell immediately that I was at the right place at the right time. The manager was in need of drivers because of the upcoming football season and holidays. I knew my Indiana friend and I would get the job.

We did. Although He decided to continue his search, I jumped in right away and I was on my way to an orientation by the end of the week.

I also got a response from a shot in the dark job I had applied for at my local YMCA. I didn't know enough about the job at the time to be able to tell if I was qualified for it or not. But the interview went well and I was hired part time at both jobs.

I admit that trusting God is a conscious effort for me. But even as my savings dwindled away and fear of unemployment gnawed at me, I ran to the scriptures for comfort and encouragement. There is no greater comfort.

Its easy for someone who has worked as an art teacher for so many years to look at pizza delivery as being a kind of nuisance of a job. But I haven't felt that way about it. I have been really excited about this job, and I know that God can use it just as well as an art teacher job to bless people and minister to them. I have had a very positive experience there over the past couple of days.

As for pottery....I have been throwing more pots than I did when I was working at the studio. I am excited to say I am on number 125 and still shooting for 1000.  I'm done with mugs for a while and working on jars and bottles.  I will post pictures soon.