The story of Hope

I talk with people every day who are jobless. Some old, some young; some depressed, some optimistic; some who'll do any type of work to make ends meet, some who refuse work just to stay on unemployment. I've been there myself (">you can read about that in this older post).

I'm a planner. A type-A personality who is used to going after what I want and succeeding. Since I was very young, I wanted to be a TV news reporter. I love writing, I love asking people questions, I love the minute just before you go on air and you get that buzz, that "good pressure." The plan was to go to college, meet the perfect guy, get married right after graduation, get the TV job, then start having babies. Wellllll...I still wonder who I'll marry, obviously don't have any youngins' (other than my fur-baby), and I was laid off from the "dream" job.

For almost two years after being laid off, I worked different odd jobs (that I enjoyed and really was grateful for), but felt like I was NEVER going to find a "career" job. I would try to imagine myself in all different types of jobs and just couldn't picture anything that felt right. I would literally beg God, cry out to him, get mad at him and tell him about it, feeling like I would never be happy in a job again.

Then one day Debbie Turner called me. About a job I didn't even know existed. A job I didn't apply for. A job in Greenwood, SC...where I never thought I'd settle down. "Lindsay, I have a position open that's going to be a mix of payroll/administrative assistant/account executive at my staffing agency and I'd like for you to come interview with me." So, what's a praying, job-seeking girl to do? Turn it down. Duh. Having nothing to lose, I boldly told her, "I don't want to be an administrative assistant and you don't want me anywhere near your payroll." She convinced me to come meet with her anyway. Telling you, she's persistent, that Debbie Turner! I met with her and immediately felt a kinship. But, I still wanted nothing to do with the front desk or the payroll, though I told her if it was strictly an account executive position, I'd love it. We ended our interview with a prayer and decided to meet again the following week.

I left there with a scary, sinking feeling that I'd be walking out that door a lot in the days to come. God, this was NOT part of the plan! Greenwood?! Payroll/admin asst?! But, the more I prayed that week, the more I knew...her calling me was no coincidence.

When we met the second time, Debbie offered me an account executive position...no payroll, no administrative duties, just account executive! The one thing I told God I wanted! Then, through both of our tears (this was no typical job interview), she told me that she'd somehow found my facebook page (we are not friends on facebook and my page is private) and that the Holy Spirit kept telling her, "This is the one. You should hire her." Of course, she told God how crazy he was being, that she didn't even know me, and that I probably wasn't even looking for work. Then, a couple of weeks later, someone I've never even met forwarded her my resume...she pulled up facebook to make sure there was nothing racy of me on there...and imagine her surprise when she saw the same girl she'd "stumbled upon" before!! This was just confirmation to me that I was indeed supposed to be there.

Apprehension and nervousness filled the days before my first day at StaffSource. Would I like it? Did I just get myself into something that I'm not going to be good at? What about my co-workers, would we get along? Would I really be using the gifts God gave me on this job?

YES, YES AND MORE YES! I LOVE my job! Seriously, if it wasn't sucking up, I'd probably thank my boss every day for persisting in hiring me. I still get to write, I interview lots of people every day, I help people find work, I help clients find good workers. I work in a Christian company and get to live that on the job without fear. My co-workers? I feel like I just got a whole bunch of new friends! If this is sounding too good to be true...well, I've been trying not to let myself worry that it'll be taken from me, because it is SO wonderful! If you could meet the precious people I work with/for, see the way work is handled, or sit behind my desk and see the joy someone has when they get a job, you'd understand why it is worth the wait. That year and a half of worrying about never finding the right job...it was hard. Some days it was impossible to have hope. I would recite Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 to myself, but sometimes I just couldn't take them personally, couldn't believe they would apply to me.

There were so many times I heard that I was "overqualified," "not experienced enough," or didn't even hear back at all from jobs I applied for. There were a couple of times I actually turned down jobs that seemed right but when I prayed I knew they weren't. It was all really tough. But, seeing how God brought me to this job that I love has given me hope. Though I'm disappointed in myself for losing hope and allowing my circumstances to to weigh me down, I now have this great perspective to share with the people I interview daily. Old or young, depressed or optimistic, I know that I have something they need. The story of hope.