Grateful for the Wait

I have some exciting news: today I was offered a position at Multnomah University! I am going to be the Executive Administrative Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer (and some other people). I am SO excited! Multnomah seems really similar to the college I attended (HBU) and so far all the people that I've met are GREAT - really friendly and fun!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have been waiting for what has felt like a really long time to have a job like this one. I began looking for a position in office administration in May 2009 and ran into a lot of dead-ends. I heard that I was "over-qualified" or "under-experienced" more times than I would like to think about. To be completely honest, I have been at least somewhat financially dependent on my parents for the better part of the past 12 months. That has been a very humbling experience for a 27 year old who spent a lot of time in school so that I could supposedly get a good job.

However I know that God has been using this and other areas of my life as a refining process where I feel like I am just waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Until I want to scream. Or lose my religion. Sometimes it hasn't even made sense. It has been frustrating to say the least. But the Lord has been so faithful (as always) during this process to teach me things I didn't even want to learn, but that I am so glad that I did.

This morning when Multnomah called and offered me the position I was very, very happy and very, very grateful. This afternoon I went to the university to officially sign the job offer and find out even more about the position. I was so floored by the way so many things are working out; this job is providing for me and answering questions I hadn't even asked. I was telling the HR Director that God truly gives more than I would have dared to ask for. In the past year I have been disappointed so many times that my expectations and desires have gone lower and lower in hopes that lower expectations will make me more likely to receive something that I want or at least not be really disappointed when I don't. But this afternoon as I was learning the details of my new job I thought about this Tony Evans quote that I have on my bulletin board, "You'll know when it's God because not only will He give you what you asked for, there will be bonuses as well". I was asking God for ANY type of administrative job in ANY type of office, but he had a better environment and better pay in mind than I could have ever imagined. Then the HR Director reminded me of this verse: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.... (Ephesians 3:20) So true.

As the day has gone on and I have reflected more on the fact that I finally got something I wanted: a full-time job in office administration (in a Christian university no less) I have realized something. As grateful as I am for this new job, I am extremely grateful that God made me wait. I was not use to waiting. For most of my life things have gone well and been fairly easy. The past year+ of my life has not been easy or gone smoothly. Of course there have been blessings because there are always blessings, but I have been in a constant state of waiting for something to happen, for provision, for relationships, for purpose and meaning.

What I learned during the waiting time was invaluable. My relationship with God grew in ways it couldn't have otherwise. My faith was tested more than it ever has been, I stumbled a lot on the way, and I learned to CHOOSE to believe in and follow Christ. Not saying I'm perfect at it or anything, but I have truly learned in my heart that He is so, so worth seeking, in good times and in bad. Like the parable of the annoying neighbor who won't go away until his friend provides for him, I have become persistent and bold in my prayers. KNOWing that true life is found in Him and that I will seek life from Him as long as I live. Good or bad. Blessing or heartbreak. I will seek Him. I will ask Him. I will pray to Him. I will wait for Him to provide. I will hope in Him. I will believe He is good. I will know He is all powerful. I will rely on Him. I will learn from Him. I will yield to Him. I will go to Him for help. I will never, ever stop.

So here I am and it's funny because as happy and grateful as I am for my new job, I am more happy and more grateful for the wait I had to endure to get to this point. God is good, He knows our true needs, He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He is so surprising and mysterious. It only makes me wonder how amazing other things I've been waiting for are going to be....