Hard to believe how much can change within the course of a week, or even a few days. Tuesday Tim was invited to come into the Blue Nile offices for a second interview for their seasonal Customer Service Representative position. We figured that a seasonal position would be a good in-between job to have for the holidays while he continues to look for something more permanent. The same day of his interview, we signed a lease for an apartment in Queen Anne – a neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle. It was absolutely terrifying, to be honest. At that point we knew that I was guaranteed a job with Starbucks and we were hopeful that Tim would be hired within the next week or two. On that note – Tim and I were able to see our friends Amy (Dykstra) and Jeremy Williams last weekend, who are living in Portland and going through much of the same job-searching drama. Amy and I decided the best thing for employers to do would be to invite the wives in for interviews and we’d be able to share all the reasons our husbands are hireable :) Certainly that would get them jobs!
So, Tuesday we signed a lease, trusting that God would continue to provide for us in one way or another. It might sound like a foolish step, but He made it clear to us that we were supposed to move forward on this apartment. The next morning when I called Starbucks to let them know that we’d signed on an apartment and I’d be able to start work the following Monday, I found that they’d filled the position that I had understood was promised to me. Hmm. So now we’d just signed away most of our money and were both seemingly without jobs, but with a year-long lease to fulfill. Daunting. And cause for lots of tears. Tim and I spent Wednesday morning and early afternoon talking and praying about what we were to do. We finally decided we should make yet another library visit to see if he’d received any emails from possible employers. As we were packing up to go, Tim noticed he had a missed call and a voicemail on his phone. We listened to it together, holding our breath. One of the ladies from Blue Nile called with some “very good news,” but she didn’t tell us what it was. More tears – happy ones this time. Tim returned the call and came back to tell me they wanted to hire him not just for the seasonal position, but as a part of their permanent Customer Service team – a position that would include benefits for both of us. Wow. What provision!! The only bummer is that the position wasn’t to start until November 15th. We figured we’d make do – maybe eat rice and beans until the paycheck came in. But no need. They called back this morning saying they’d changed their minds and wondered if he could come in on Monday. This Monday. In three days Monday. Which also means that our benefits would begin the same day – November 1st instead of December 1st. Even more to rejoice about!
These first three months of our marriage haven’t been at all what we expected them to be. But here we are, on the verge of another transition within this bigger transition of moving to Seattle, and we are grateful. Although we would rather things have gone in a different order we see now that we wouldn’t have learned nearly as much if that had been the case. Instead of Tim getting a job, us moving out here and getting an apartment, then me finding a part time job to do on my non-internship days, in that order, things have been very different. We've been so dependent on the generosity of others - we moved, then I was promised a job, then we got an apartment, then neither of us had jobs, then Tim got a job, and now we move into our new home this weekend. I like that God often doesn’t choose to work in the way we think would work best. No. He knows better than we do what is best for us and he provides in ways that are most unexpected. If you’ve made it to the end of this post, thank you for reading :) And thank you for all of your prayers along the way!
