Thursday, June 13, 2013

A summer in service

So after I got back from California, I slipped quickly into a heaven sent job in terms of location and amount of work available. I spent the first few months of the year stressing ever so slightly over whether or not someone would want to employ me for such a short time period, and stressing over whether I would have enough money at the end of the summer to pay for everything in order to get back to college. And amazingly, God had everything in control, and in retrospect I look fairly foolish. I could in no way have predicted what happened.

And now I am well and truly settling in for a crazy, busy summer at an up market hotel as a food and beverage assistant. Which I don't find as stressful a job as I thought I would. In fact I rather like it. I don't mind the small irritating tasks that must be done every single day. And scrubbing the floor during a deep clean. Doubtless these things will become annoying eventually. But just now I am so grateful, and I am immensely enjoying the fact that I am earning my own money, and in a way contributing to society. Also I love kind of freedom and independence that it brings. And I excel at the opportunity to prove myself reliable and useful. There is nothing worse than feeling purposeless! And I hate to be idle, it grates on me, and this job certainly keeps me on my feet, rather literally.

The hotel is utterly beautiful too. I do remember feeling completely out of place and far out of my comfort zone when I was shown around on my first shift. Everything is so lavish and expensive. In comparison, I grew up on a farm of sorts. But I do so love to put on my smart work clothes and go to work. Is it strange to enjoy work so much? 

Thursday, June 06, 2013

God leads, always...

I will never truly get used to the way God works. His ways are so intricate and it's incredible how such small things that seem so insignificant come together and result in something greater. Small decisions that seem throw away and spur of the moment come back around months later and you realise that they had a huge influence on where you now stand.

And if that wasn't amazing enough, God also divinely places you exactly where you need to be at exactly the right moment. Chance encounters are never accidental with God, he plans them all, but from where we're standing it just looks like a lucky coincidence.

We cannot see what lies ahead in our lives. Yet God knows the life of every single person on earth. Every single twist and turn, every single good or bad decision.

When I came back to England to find a summer job before I head back to college in August, I was convinced that no one would hire me for such a short period of time. And I was a little downcast, because I don't consider myself to be exactly swimming in hire-able skills. And I don't really ave any proper references as I've never had a proper job before. Needless to say I wasn't truly desperate to pop over to the local manor hotel and enquire about any vacancies. I did put it off for at least two days.
But when I did finally go down, with a hastily put together CV of sorts, I walked into the lobby at the same moment as the head of hospitality staff walked out of his office. And oddly enough, although I believed that the only vacancy was in housekeeping, he practically hired me on the spot on the basis of my availability and the fact that I have had a little training in hospitality over in California! He had me come in the very next evening for a trial shift, and even drove me home afterwards as we didn't get out of work until 1:20AM!!

This seemingly small and chance event has increased my trust in God just that little bit more, and I cannot tell you how silly I felt after fretting about finding a summer job for the last two months or so.

God is so good, and he knows what he's doing. I wish I trusted him more! But he is so graceful and he continues to love me even when my trust is weak.