“Dear God, Sometimes You request, You ask, You nudge, You invite us to do things that are seemingly hard or uncomfortable…I pray that as we courageously step out in faith and participate, we do grow to know You more and that extraordinary things happen as a result of our obedience…”
(Originally published on UnveiledWife.com)
There was one hurdle holding me back from resigning my current position and that was I wanted assurance that this new job would supply enough hours. Here I was concerned about working too much but also needed to be assured I had enough work to help pay the bills. I emailed my potential new boss…and waited. He didn’t respond. Not that night, not the next day, not the day after that. Whatever peace I thought I had vanished.
I again questioned myself. Was I doing the right thing or just giving up too easily? Why did I keep thinking God gave me this job…was it for a brief season or did God have longer plans? Why was I sad when thinking about leaving one particular part of the job…and the people that God placed into my life through this job?
The thing is…I kept getting this feeling that God wanted me to step out in faith before I was given the answers. But that’s where it got scary. Which was the right way to step? Continue working a job that I didn’t feel capable of? Take a leap of faith, resign, and begin working for another company where I had no guarantees about hours? Would that make me look wishy-washy and undedicated? What was the right thing to do?
It happened to be my birthday the day this all culminated. Needless to say, this is not what I wanted to be dealing with. However, I sought wise counsel and decided that since I truly desired to obey, and I felt this was the direction God was leading me in, I would take the step of faith, resign and if I was making a mistake, trust that God would take that mistake and turn it into something beautiful.
I wrote up my resignation and prepared myself mentally, spiritually, and emotionally for having the dreaded conversation the following day. My boss and I had a meeting scheduled already so it was perfect timing. We ended my birthday my favorite way – having a picnic at the park, enjoying beautiful weather, and just spending time together as a family. It was peaceful, relaxing, and for the most part I tried not to think about what was coming.
Tuesday I began working and usually my days fly by but this particular day crawled. When my boss and I began our meeting, I jumped right in. Not to be mean but to remain honest.
“I have to tell you something that might change the course of our meeting.”
“Okay…” (waiting patiently).
“I’m giving you my two week notice.”
His response was totally unexpected. He refused to accept my resignation.
“Well, I didn’t expect to hear that response. I figured I better quit before you decide to fire me in a month when you realize how bad I really am.”
He continued to refuse my resignation and instead wanted to know what he could do to help make my schedule more manageable. We were cut off abruptly, and I got off the phone not sure where I stood. Did I still have a job or had I officially quit?
Twenty minutes later, he called me back and said he would accept my resignation for my present position but gave me three things to think about and to get back to him by Friday.
Come back to see what happened next…
© Cheri Swalwell 2015