1/5/08 Opportunity, Present Thyself For Knocking

Well, I was "downsized" today.

The economy has hit Ye Ol Company pretty hard, so I guess it wasn't a surprise. (Well, the reduction in force wasn't a surprise...I was a little surprised that I was part of it). But don't cry for me Argentina, because I'm actually looking at this as a good thing. It is completely and without a doubt, a God thing.

Don't get me wrong, the last five years at Ye Ol Company have taught me a lot. I have job skills that will help me anywhere. My coworkers were nice, and overall it was a good company to work for.

But it wasn't my passion.

And for the past 6 or 8 months, I've really wanted to do something that I was passionate about. (As a matter of fact, that was one of my New Year's Resolutions for this year...find something to do that I'm passionate about. Funny how that worked out, isn't it?). I've felt this growing...restlessness...for a while now, but I didn't know what I needed to do about it. And with a steady, if unfulfilling job to fall back on, I admit that I didn't really have the courage to look too deeply.

Guess that all changes now.

When they told me, the overwhelming feeling was...relief. (So much so that I laughed out loud, which was definitely not the reaction that they were looking for). Relief that I was finally going to get to find something that I loved. Relief that this degree would be put to use. Relief that it is all completely in God's hands. And Ye Ol Company was really good about it. They gave me a severance package and set me up with a "job transition coordinator" who will help me polish up my resume and find something new. And we've got enough saved up for a rainy day that it won't hurt us financially. So it's all good. As good as things could possibly get. I am not sad at all. I am excited. The word that keeps circling through my head is "finally!"

I'm actually a little concerned that I'm not more upset. You would think that losing your job would create a fair amount of stress and uncertainty, but I'm not the least bit stressed or uncertain. It's really weird. It occurs to me that God has been preparing me mentally for this for a while. All the restlessness, all the desire to to something more, all the...twitchiness from being unfulfilled. I can't say that I was really expecting this, but now that I look at it, things have fallen into place so perfectly that I know it couldn't just be coincidence. And that makes all the difference.

So what will I do now? I'm not sure. I'll meet with the transition coordinator tomorrow and we'll pick out a new direction for me. This time around, I want something that makes me excited about getting up in the morning. This time around, I want to make a difference. This time around, anything is possible.

Thus begins my new adventure.