New job!

So I just completed my second day at the new job. Praise God! His provision didn’t come a moment too soon; His timing was impeccable, as ever.  We experienced extreme relief after I was finally officially offered the job, then I headed to Grand Junction for a FANTASTIC week with my family. Jess joined us for Thanksgiving which was so much fun. It was the first time that the entire Storey family had assembled since Matt’s wedding,… and there have been two additions since then!

Then we had to return to real life. After two days on the job I’m feeling quite overwhelmed with a number of things; and would appreciate your prayers!

First, I was expecting my commute to be about 30 minutes each way. Add in the traffic and it’s turned out to be at least 45 minutes each way. Kind of a shock to this country bumpkin. After Laramie, where I worked 7 blocks from home and walked back and forth regularly, 45 minutes in the car seems like forever! It feels like by the time I get home I’ve already lost any potential down time. I know that I will adjust, I just pray that it happens quickly! (I’m hoping to get the Bible on CD, and would love any other suggestions that people may have on productive time killers in the car!)

Second, my poor pooch doesn’t know what hit her! One minute I’m staying at home loving on her all day every day, and the next she’s cooped up by herself for at least 8 hours each day. We’re still trying to figure out how to meet the needs of our extraordinarily high energy dog while also going about the lives that God has so clearly led us to. I know that this isn’t really that big of a deal, and that she is after all just a DOG, but I love her and I feel bad about it.

 This is a big transition for Jess and I both. I won’t have as much time to keep up with stuff at home. He will have to spend more time taking care of the dog (and time is a precious commodity when you’re in medical school!). We are praying that God will continue to guide us and teach us through this process.

Finally, I am so thankful for God’s guidance and provision for us. This will be a period of change, and some if it will be hard, but it is such a blessed peace just knowing without a doubt that this is where God wants me.

Omniscient. Omnipotent. Omnipresent. Omnibenevolent.

WARNING: This blog contains severe rambling and also some blubbering. Read at your own risk.

Me yesterday: “OK God,… I know you’re up there all omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and all those other omni-words that I don’t know (ok, I’ve gotta admit that I cheated on the omnibenevolent one, I actually only knew the other three)… and that SHOULD mean that you haven’t forgotten me down here on my own,…. But sometimes it sure feels that way.”

Still waiting. I don’t know about you (especially considering I have no idea who you are reading this blog at this exact moment) but sometimes I feel forgotten. Certainly in the last 5 months, but even before then, there have been times when God has felt so distant,… and I have not been able to see His hand in my life (The argument could be made that I have not been able to see His hand working because it didn’t do what I thought it should do and therefore ignored or didn’t recognize it,… but that point’s already been made in previous posts,….)  (OK, I seriously need to stop with the parentheses (welcome to my rabbit-trail mind).).

I’m sure you know what I mean; times when you feel a bit abandoned. I had a serious melt-down last night because I felt so forgotten. I was supposed to hear back about the job that I’ve been interviewing for by mid-week; yesterday afternoon when I still hadn’t heard back I called. She simply told me that they were still waiting on my background check. My logical brain calmly states: “that means that they’re still interested, and don’t forget: God’s in control.” My emotional brain passionately wails: “I’M SO SICK AND TIRED OF WAITING!!!!! WHY CAN’T IT JUST GO SMOOTHLY AND QUICKLY!!!!! IT ISN’T FAIR! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!” And commence the blubbering on my hubby’s shoulder.

Jess hugged me; he told me everything was going to be OK; and then promptly introduced pizza, beer, and re-runs of The Office which helped significantly. I married the perfect guy.

I’ve just been digesting the situation today and I know that the root of the issue is almost always the same for me: trusting God in every circumstance. The specific manifestation of that issue this week was having patience while trusting and waiting for His provision. Patience has never been my strongest characteristic,… I think that I will probably struggle with having patience my whole life. (It’s one more fruit of the Spirit that it really is up to HIM to manifest in my life!) The other thought that I had was: how consistent have I been at spending time reading my Bible and praying this week? The answer: NOT consistent enough.

So, after some serious rambling and blubbering (you were warned), the conclusion that I’m left with is this:

Next time I’m feeling a heavy sense abandonment or like I’ve been forgotten, I need to ask myself these questions (preferably BEFORE the blubbering commences):

1. Have I been in the WORD? The armor of God in Ephesians 6 mentions the Gospel of Peace. Sounds like that might be helpful.

2. What fruit of the Spirit would be helpful in dealing with this situation (Galatians 5:22-23)? These are characteristics that are part of a package deal when we accept Christ as our Savior and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As believers we should manifest all of these every day. I want to remember to specifically pray for the manifestation of peace and patience in my life; every day, and ESPECIALLY when my emotional brain starts go a little crazy on me.

3. Finally, Am I, right now in this moment, trusting that God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent? (And any other omni-word I don’t know about…)

Because He is.