1 in 20

As a Christian living in Manhattan, I am by far in the minority. At The Journey, they often reminded us of the statsitic...1 in 20 people are believers. Whenever I'm riding the subway, chances are, I'm the only Christian in my car. But, since leaving my job at the church, I've been amazed at the number of Christians I have come across during my job search. I already told you about the woman at the media-ad firm. I was never 100% certain she was a Christian, but I think she was and I think that's why she went out of the way and put so much effort into trying to find something that would work for me. We had that in common, we clicked. My head-hunter told me yesterday that she had asked about me- wondered if I regretted my decision to turn her offer down. I don't regret it, although, I think working with a woman like that could have been a great experience.

Also, I mentioned my "exploratory interview" at Warner Music in a previous post. But, I did not mention that the HR girl I met with there was also a Christian. She was very familiar with The Journey and was very open about her involvement in the church. She also took an interest in me, but, unfortunately, they don't have any finance/acct'g positions to fill right now.

You may remember that I had an interview with the NHL over 2 weeks ago. It has turned into quite a process. First, the Director of Acct'g over there got very sick-- so sick, he was placed in the hospital for over a week. During that week, everything got put on hold. Except that everyone else over at the NHL had time to do some thinking. They all liked me and wanted me except for this one lady, Mary, who I did not even meet. Mary noticed on my resume that I worked for The Journey and she must have googled it or something because she became worried that I would be "too" Christian. She seriously asked my head-hunter if I would say "God Bless You" every time I saw her. As my head-hunter was explaining this to me, he told me that he, himself is a Christian and was just baptized a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to hear this! I talk to him almost daily and now he brings up Christ in almost every conversation we have.

Sunday night, I had my 4th encounter with a random Christian in the city. I was on the bus going to church and was talking on the phone to a friend, telling her about my NHL experience and this Mary lady. I thought I was talking quietly, but I think I probably always talk too loud on the phone and apparently the woman in front of me could hear everything I was saying. She was an older lady-- probably near 80 and very cute. We came to her stop and she got up and situated her cane, then turned around towards me before heading to the door and said "I hope you find the right job. It's in God's hands!" How sweet! And completely unexpected. According to the odds, there should not have been another Christian on that bus!

So, why all the Christians? I don't know why. Maybe God is using these people as an encouragement to me during this time of uncertainty-- they have most definitely helped keep my hopes up! But, it keeps me asking the question...does God want me to working for a Christian right now, or not? When I had the opportunity to at the ad-firm, that definitely sounded appealing....easy. But, life as a Christian isn't meant to be easy. At The Journey, I learned a lot about how important it is to purposefully put yourself into non-Christian environments so you can befriend these people and, hopefully, be a tool God uses to glorify Himself to them. So, maybe a non-Christian environment is one where I can best be used for HIS purposes. The NHL is definitely a non-Christian environment. Anyway, I'm not sure what God has planned for me ultimately as far as my work environment goes, but I know He does have a plan and that it is perfect and for that I am excited!

Soooo, back to the NHL--- I went back there on Monday to meet this Mary character, basically so she could see if I am a crazy Christian...I was going to see if SHE was the crazy one! The conversation was pleasant though...I told her "God Bless You" several times, of course! (Just kidding)! So, now, they've decided to hire me. Except that they have this crazy background process that takes TWO weeks! So, I'm planning to start Monday working on a contract basis and then will become a normal full-time employee in about a month.

This contract deal is good, because I'm not feeling a strong sense one way or the other about taking this job. This will give me more time to feel out the job and also figure out if it's where I'm supposed to be at this time. I've always had very strong feelings one way or another about past job opportunities. When I left EY and went to the law firm, there were jobs I turned down first because they didn't feel right. However, when the law firm job came up, I had a complete sense of peace almost from the very beginning. And with The Journey, I also had a complete sense of peace-- I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't turn out like I anticipated, but I don't regret it and I know that God used my time there for a reason. And with the ad-firm job, I had a sense of uneasiness that couldn't be explained and I just knew it was not the right place for me. With the NHL, I feel none of that, so it's nice to have the time to see before I am committed to the full-time job. Plus, the inflow of some cash would be kind of nice!

Additionally, another opportunity has come up. It would be doing the accounting for a company that owns 10 private schools in the city. Nine of the ten schools are for autistic children. It is a for-profit company, which is good- I don't think I'm ready to get back in the non-profit world just yet. It sounds very, very interesting. I was supposed to interview yesterday, but the CFO had an emergency come up at the very last minute. We haven't rescheduled, but I am hoping something works out this week before I start the contract work at the NHL.

So, that's the update on me and my crazy job situation!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!