Key

I’ll begin the story about 8 months ago. I put in my resignation & officially ended a job I enjoyed & had been working at for three years. June 1st was my last day. After getting married in May & moving to a new home, I felt it was time for me to begin something new. I walked out of the doors feeling like I made the right decision but anxious about what to do next. I had nothing lined up. I went straight to a coffee shop & sent an email to the only lead I had. It was a name of a woman I didn’t know but maybe would have some ideas of where I could work. That was it.

In the meantime of waiting for her reply, I went to coffee shops nearby (we didn’t have internet at the house) and sent out resumes. Then once I got home, I threw myself into projects at the house, working to do as much as possible to make up for my lack of income. After weeks turned into months with no replies, I felt defeated. Gavin assured me that I was doing what I was supposed to though & that we were getting by okay on his earnings but it was tight. I was afraid someone would ask me what I do for work & I wouldn’t have an answer to tell them. I felt like a failure.

I decided to research jobs that I could do from home & was thankful to accept a part-time position teaching English to Chinese students over the computer (by this time, we finally had internet). It wasn’t many hours but it felt good to be making something again. I would start my day teaching at 5:30 am for a couple of hours then get into working on the house. And while I did, I listened to countless sermons, podcasts, anything I could that would encourage me to keep going. I started to realize that this time alone every day was preparing me mentally & spiritually for what God had planned for me next, though I didn’t know what.

That’s the funny thing about life isn’t it? In the midst of it, you feel completely lost but sooner or later, there comes a time when the pieces begin to fit together.

It was early fall by now & one morning as I was causally checking my email, there it was. An email from the woman I messaged back on June 1st.

She expressed her apologies for getting back to me so late but had been out due to maternity leave. She went on to say that she was leaving her current job & asked if I would like her to give them my name to fill her position. I told her “yes, that would be great,” even though it terrified me. Did I even have the ability to fill her position? She was Wellness Director for the Salvation Army in a downtown area. It seemed like a big step for me at the time, but I felt like it might be right. A couple days later I received a prompt email from the Major there asking if I could come in for an interview.

That Sunday, I told my friend Jeri about the opportunities I suddenly had before me. I say plural because the woman I had emailed also asked if I’d be interested in working with her in the business she was opening. It felt like two doors were suddenly open before me & I had to be sure to choose the right one.

After the service, Jeri asked me if I’d like some of the women from the congregation to pray with me about which job to take. I’ve never really had anyone do that for me before but I felt in my heart that it would help. And it did, more than I could ever imagine. I’ll never forget the words that were spoken over me. One woman began, “I see an old key,” she said. (just like my home, I thought) “It fits perfectly into the lock & turns” she went on,”The job you take will feel like it all clicks into place.”

A couple days later I met with the women at her shop & the following day I had the interview. One choice felt like the easy way out & the other I knew would challenge me. Both were available, but I knew without a doubt the one I should choose.

Fast-forward to today. I’m in the position that I felt in my heart was the right choice to make, even though that was the one I was more afraid of initially. I knew I had to step out in faith. And it’s the job of my dreams, offering health & wellness to an inner-city community plagued with homelessness and poverty.

And now, I see that my previous employment at the YMCA helped equip me with tools I would need today. I’m so passionate about this work that I wake up in the middle of the night to write down ideas. I get up in the morning feeling like this is what I’m called to do. It just feels right. Like a key fitting perfectly into a lock. I’ve not been able to shake those words from my mind.

A week ago, I asked God to give me a sign, assuring me that this is indeed the plan He had for me all along. Then yesterday as I was cleaning out a corner hutch my grandfather built, I wiped my rag over the wood on the bottom shelf & heard a ting. My hand immediately reached down into the darkness and brought out a tiny gold key, no bigger than a fingernail. I’ve never seen anything like it, nor had a clue of where it would have come from.

As light reflected off the little key I held in my palm, I gazed in amazement. I couldn’t help but feel that God had given me all of the assurance I’ll ever need. Both in my work & in Him.