Thursday, August 14, 2014

God Blew My Mind.

A week ago today, discouraged and broken, I told God I was ready for Him to blow my mind.

And blow it He did.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that yesterday I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at a local elementary school.

I edited this photo to make myself look tanner because I blended in with the whiteboard.

But let me start from the beginning.


My job search started back in April. I started filling out applications for various school districts and private schools. I originally was set on teaching in a private school, but was open to anything. Eventually I had a complete change of heart and stopped even looking at private schools, but that's another story.

At the end of May or beginning of June (I don't remember when exactly), I went to a hiring fair for a local ISD. I had no idea it was a hiring fair at the time; I thought it was just a job fair. So imagine my surprise when not only did the first principal I talked to give me an interview, he also offered me a job.

I was thrilled. But there was one problem. I had to commit right then and there to stop my job search. Well, I was a month into my search (with 3 months before school started), I knew nothing about the school, and I was always raised to never make big life decisions on the spot. Always take a day or two to pray about them.

So I couldn't accept the job. The principal understood my decision and told me he would save my resume in case I changed my mind. "Give me a call if you decide you want the job," he said. "If the position's still open, it's yours."

The months went by and no one would even give me an interview. I imagine they looked at my resume, saw my lack of experience, and moved on. It's not really fair but that's the way it works. Teaching is a hard industry to get into.

When I started talking to my current employer about my leaving soon, it really sunk in that this was actually happening. I was quitting my job and so far, I had nothing to go to. When I had set an actual last day date, I started to panic.

I went and applied to probably 20 schools that night. I was desperate.

A week later, I went to another job fair. This one was different. No specific schools were there, just district representatives taking resumes. They said they were giving resumes to principals with open positions, but that's hundreds of resumes they're handing these principals. The chance they would even look at mine was slim.

I went home that day really discouraged. That night, I broke down crying and praying that God would provide me with a job. Afterward, I remembered the school I had met a few months earlier that offered me a job.

Should I call? I almost did. I asked my mom if she thought I should call, and she suggested I wait another week. I thought that sounded good.

The next morning, guess who called me?

The school that I almost called the night before called me. They had another position open up and the principal wanted to meet with me. Was this a sign from God? Yes, yes it was. I just knew from the moment I got that phone call that this was going to be the school I worked at. I was about to become a teacher.

The next day I met with the principal. He asked me a few questions and showed me around the school. I fell in love with it. I could see myself working there. He didn't offer me the job yet, but he said he would be calling very soon. The offer was coming. My meeting with him couldn't have gone better. He loved me. There was no way the offer wasn't coming.

The offer never came.

But the rejection call did!

At first, I was okay. Then, I wasn't. In fact, I wasn't anywhere close to okay. I was a complete wreck.

I attribute that to this: I'm not used to rejection. I've had it pretty easy my whole life. My first job I never applied for. Never sent in a resume. Never interviewed. No job searching for months. I just...got hired. 

I didn't even know that it was possible to get rejected. That concept had just never occurred to me. I honestly thought that everyone would love me and would be fighting over me, and that's not at all what happened. That's not even realistic. But I didn't know that.

Which brings me back to the first line of this post.

A week ago today, discouraged and broken, I told God I was ready for Him to blow my mind.

And blow it He did.

That night, I went and applied for a bunch of new positions again. Every elementary position that was available. And then all I could do was pray.

I didn't hear anything over the weekend, obviously. I honestly wasn't expecting to hear anything at all. I was really beginning to accept the idea of just being a sub until I found something full-time. 

Monday afternoon I got the call. A school was looking for a kindergarten teacher ASAP. Interviews were the next day. I scheduled one for after work.

The interview went well, I thought; but then again, I thought the last one went even better and we all know how that worked out. I was NOT going to get attached to this school. I was not expecting to get hired (really, I wasn't).

After the interview, I got several phone calls from the principal trying to get some extra information from me. I was pretty sure I was in the running, but for all I knew so were 10 other people.

Yesterday afternoon, my phone rang, and I learned that I got the job I did not expect at all to get.

Yesterday was my last day at my current (now former) job.

My new job starts today.

How's that for timing?

You guys, I'm just blown away. This whole journey has been such a roller coaster for me. I went from being sure I would get hired, to being sure I wouldn't, to actually wanting to be a sub for a little while, to not wanting to be a sub AT ALL, to completely questioning my career choice and considering just opening a bakery instead, to being a kindergarten teacher.

God. That is all I have to say about that.

Believe me, I will be telling this story for the rest of my life. It is such a testament to how God always comes through, even (and especially) when it doesn't seem like it.

Give Him a chance.

He might just blow your mind.

2 comments :

  1. Congrats! It's amazing how God works in our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aww, YAY Kayla! You're going to rock. :-)

    And great storytelling, as usual!

    ReplyDelete