A Mountaintop to Write About

It's usually easier for me to write about lessons learned, as usually those moments are so impactful to me and maybe those around me. What I tend to overlook are the wonderful blessings that I have within my reach, and every once in a while the Lord reveals Himself and His plan in such a powerful way (at least to me), that I need to share.

A year ago early April, Rob started his new position as a Pastor in West L.A. At the time he was offered the post, we were living in Orange County, not exactly a stone's throw from L.A. but not a horrible drive without (please note the "without") traffic. It became quickly evident that I needed to make a decision about my job. I had two choices, actually three: 1-quit, 2-keep it and commute from L.A., or 3-keep it and commute from a distance mid-way between O.C and L.A.

Rob suggested we take a look at moving mid-way maybe Long Beach, which was also encouraged by a trusted member of our new congregation. No one would have argued that this would have been a good decision. But I wasn't convinced, particularly since I've always felt that should Rob ever get a pastoral position we needed to live near the church to be close to the people we'd be serving. Long Beach would be around a 45 minute commute. But we figured we may as well explore our options as things would become more clear in time. I had heard great things about Long Beach. We went there optimistically and just as quickly realized it wasn't the city for us - just didn't "feel" right.

Then Rob recommended we live in Playa del Rey again, a small beach town just north of the airport where we had been married and I had lived for several years. That did "feel" right, so then the final question - what to do with my job? After much prayer, it didn't seem right to leave quite yet as it just wasn't time, Rob agreed, it was decided. I would do the dreaded commute and reassess at the end of the year. Now, this is where the story gets interesting.

On faith, I made this decision, knowing logically it didn't seem the best way to go. Within a month after going that route, my boss' boss approached me about the possibility of one day relocating to our Beverly Hills location, approximately 12 miles from our new home as opposed to the 60 miles (one way!)I was presently commuting. Interesting that I made a step of faith, and He showed me a possibility that I didn't know could be a reality. Nothing was finalized, if it were to happen it wouldn't be until 2011 sometime, and some major management restructuring would have to occur for me to have my interest peaked. A lot of "what ifs" but the possibility was there nonetheless.

So in the meantime, I did the commute with a very supportive boss who was fine with me adjusting my hours, and even shifting my days to help with minimizing my time in traffic. I listened to books on tape, bought a bluetooth so I could converse with family more - whatever it took to make the drive easier. And in the end, it wasn't that bad. I knew I couldn't do it forever, but you would be amazed what you will persevere through when you believe in the cause, and I certainly believed it was the right thing to do at that time.

Fast forward 8 months, and I felt the need to start praying about our situation again. I was starting to grow weary of the drive, and not sure if I should start looking for another job, I began asking the Lord for some more direction. At the same time, I felt pulled to get more involved in our ministry, which seemed impossible to do given how much time I was on the road. The worship team, which I felt led to become a part of, met Tuesday nights until 10pm, which meant I wouldn't get enough sleep for my 5am wake-up call. Again, didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense life balance wise, but the pull was too strong, and eventually I relented. "Okay Lord. I don't understand how this is going to work, but I'll join the team and trust You."

Not 4 days later, my boss approached me saying it was time for me to transfer to Beverly Hills. I was shocked. Oh and did I tell you that during the 8 months time a new General Manager had been assigned to that location. Again, a step of faith in the direction I felt He was leading, and He opened up a way. The Lord knew the plan from the beginning, and fortunately in these cases, I listened, and have new "faith markers" to build upon.

As I write this, I'm presently on a short break between assignments. I start my new position on Monday, with a team who has repeatedly told me they need me. One Christian brother in particular said I was a direct answer to his prayers. I can't even get into all the details how my boss and my HR team (see the pic) organized a beautiful going away reception in my honor, and even had Rob attend as a surprise, which of course led me to me shedding many tears! I even was able to share a part of my testimony as to how God used my colleagues to help me grow into a leader.

In a time where sometimes it's difficult to see how the Lord can use secular jobs, I have no doubt how he's using me. I'm sure the next position I'll be starting comes with challenges of a different sort. He doesn't always give me what I think I need. But in this case, my prayer is that I remember all He's done in getting me from point "a" to point "b", and to just trust Him with the plan He has laid out for me, whatever it looks like.