Good Changes

I am proud to announce that a long awaited event will be taking place this Friday. It has taken a lot of work- a lot of patience, but it has all finally paid off.

We are getting Fios TV.

(For you west coasters, that's super cable TV.)

Oh wait, that's not what this post is about! (Well, not entirely.) The reason that we can finally afford to splurge on a non necessity like cable TV, is that Kaylon got a new job this past week! He is the new fund manager at ICMA-RA, where he will work with fixed income! (You're welcome to call him and ask him what all that means.)

Many, maybe most of you reading this, know what a long road this has been for us. The market was about to start its downturn just as we prayerfully decided to start putting his resume out there. We expected instant success. We looked at positions in NYC, SF, Ohio, Kalamazoo, Atlanta, PA, Boston, Hartford, and even India. We started out excited, but as one after another applications went unanswered we became discouraged. As the market fell, we became thankful that we were not one of the New Yorkers who had lost their jobs, and as more time went by, we were just plain grateful that we had a job that paid the bills. Even that was not entirely true for a while, at which point Kaylon gave up his weekends to work at an Alzheimer unit, and I babysat for a friend twice a week, just to make ends meet. But we made it through-I believe because we paid our tithing- and soon Kaylon's day job was enough for us.

Kaylon would have sudden bouts of enthusiasm as he looked through job postings. As he investigated jobs, he would delve into the intricacies of certain aspects of that niche of finance. By studying all these various jobs, he started to define what he wanted to do in the finance field. Jobs he once found appealing were crossed off his list, and new ones took their place, again and again. He studied for and passed his three level CFA exam, each on the first try (which is not often done!), and learned to be more professional. He joined the National Economists Club, networked, and was then nominated and elected to a leadership position. Recently he even had a couple interviews. But it was not until now that he got a new job.

Over this period of time, I have often wondered why we felt inspired to look for jobs then, when the job he wanted would not be open until now. I always believed that if we had faith that the Lord had a plan for us, I just couldn't see how this fit in. Looking back I can see that without the searching, Kaylon would have never gained the experience needed to take this job, at least not while in a position stable enough to take care of him family. During this time his CFA was paid for by his company, and just last month he accumulated enough professional time to qualify for his full CFA designation. He had time to study after work and during his commute. He fulfilled his callings in the church with exactness and increased his spirituality. I doubt fixed income was on even his long list of jobs when he first started, but now he knows that it is something that he will enjoy and that will challenge him. Because he was searching he forced himself to learn, and that learning prepared him for now.

Mom told me a story once about a man who was asked by the Lord to push against a rock with all his might. The man obeyed, and spent day after day pushing on the rock. The man became discouraged and gave up, going to the Lord in prayer and apologizing for being unable to move the rock and so failing.

The Lord then said, "Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

I am grateful that the rock is finally moved for us. I am also grateful for a husband who has the faith to keep pushing on the rock, every day, even when there seems to be no progress. I am grateful to all of you, for your prayers, thoughts and constant putting up with all our job talk. And I am indebted forever to my Heavenly Father who knows us, and loves us, and gives us the exact life experiences that will help us grow to our full potential.