Staying Positive While Seeking God's Plan In My Life

A friend from my Church shared this verse with me:

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Looking back, I realized there are many reasons why I experienced different jobs, like working for a retail company, publishing, government, school districts, and parishes.  At the age of 17, I started my first job to save money to attend college, and figure what my career path was.  However, in July 2014, I turned 36 years old, and the jobs I had were either temporary work, part-time with no benefits, or full-time temporary work. Although I got raises, many times I ended up being from laid off, fired, or I resigned from the position.

At first, I thought the many unemployment experiences were due to a problem with me. However, when I sought advice from other people about this issue, they would tell me to pray, to be patient, to know and to trust that God had a plan to use the talents he had given to me.  Well, I became very angry and frustrated as to why this unemployment experience kept happening.  Yet, there could be a reason or sign behind this.

Lately, my mother had a conversation with me and shared her insight, "I noticed you have worked since the age of 17 and now you're 36, if we did the math, you worked for 19 years of your life without taking a break, and taking the time to take care of your grandparents, family, and friends.  This is the time for you to take care of yourself."  I agreed with her, though I prayed to God many times, no job opportunity has come up - either some jobs I applied for were not a good fit, or I was over-qualified, or I did not have enough work experience.  Of course, it seemed to me that the jobs I had, may not be a niche that is in demand, or I thought something better would come along, or I may have to summon the courage to turn down a job, or possibly go back to school and study a new field.  My thought is that I have worked almost a quarter of my life, but still have a long way to go to find that job that I will love to do every day.

This is a reminder for me to stay positive, and to stay persistent in mailing job applications, or talking and networking with people.  I remember that saying, "When you least expect it!"  to give me encouragement when I feel exhausted and need a break from looking for work.  Then, when I feel better, I get back up and continue on.

Being out of the workforce has given me the opportunity to focus on myself and others. Recently, a friend of mine and I signed up to do volunteer work once a week at a food bank.  Also, I volunteer for two days at my Church, and it has been great for me, with no stress.

I also now have the time to do projects that I have not gotten too, like prepareing a portfolio, or brainstormung to create a children's faith book, or becoming a writer/blogger, or studying to become a teacher.  For me now, the sky's the limit with all these new opportunities, doors, and paths. I'm taking this time as a learning period for me to build more confidence in myself and to become more comfortable in my skin. However, at some point, I do wish to go back into the workforce.

In closing, I am very blessed and grateful of what I have in my life, especially because I realize that there are people in need that may not have the opportunities that I have.  Having a close relationship God will help me to trust and love Him more daily, and to develop a different perspective on life, which is all good and positive.