Our Divine Employment Agency

Spending any amount of time unemployed can have enormous ramifications. Losing a job also has the potential to leave even greater, more lasting effects on one's self-worth, if we allow it. Most of us have been there, or are in the middle of the storm right now. It was not long ago when I was in the middle of such a storm. I had to trust that God had something amazing going on, and I was to rest in Him for awhile.

After my divorce, the storms hit. Years of self-destructive behavior resulted in several short term jobs, all of which were not where the Lord really wanted me to be. I wouldn't realize that until much later though. Even when the ideal career job was no longer there, I pushed forward and worked three jobs to simply keep a roof over my head. This required doing things I normally did not do, nor did I really care for. There were many lessons in humility along the way.

Sometimes we must do things we really do not want to do. God has His plan, and we need to remain humble in response to what we are called to do, regardless of the wages we were accustomed to. My most humbling experience was when I decided to check out Labor Ready. It is an employment agency where you can sign on for blue collar jobs. Heck, I used to work on my own motorcycle, so resorting to working in the trades didn't seem too intimidating. What is great about this agency is they pay you cash when your work day is over. I needed $70 to take care of gas and insurance right away, so I headed over there at 5:30 a.m. to put my name on the list. To my surprise, they put me on a job at a new country club, helping with a membership recruitment luncheon/dinner. This would be much easier than what I had anticipated! I figured this would be a piece of cake, and well worth the $70 cash.

Well, this new country club did not have any kitchen facilities, so there was nowhere to wash the dishes between lunch and dinner. What we ended up doing is shuttling, by golf cart, all the dirty dishes, pots and pans, out to a FIELD. We also had to drive huge pots of hot water out to the field, so we could wash all the dishes in time for the dinner service. I thought, "If only these guests knew their dishes were being washed in the dirt!" It was like camping! I recall, as I was stooped over for hours, washing these dishes, "Wow, I never thought in a million years I'd ever be doing something like this to put gas in my car." But, the point is, I did it. I obeyed, in humility, what God had me to do in this season.

One season when I did not work, was due to a work related injury, requiring surgery on the nerves in my left arm. At first, the time off work was welcomed. What I did not expect was how I was overcome with a wave of worthlessness. Suddenly, I was no longer the breadwinner, and I had this ailment determining whether or not I could even do laundry or carry a bag of groceries. Talk about humbling. I was always in control, but not any more. You see where this is going? On the up side, blessings always come after lessons in humility.

My choice to spend my time volunteering at my church was the best thing ever. Serving in the bookstore is where I started. Not only was I surrounded by all these amazing books, but I also had the opportunity to meet many people within my church. God did a tremendous work in me there, in The Cove. Then, he led me to serve in the administrative offices. It was a blessing to continue to use my years of experience in God's house. Over one year, I learned many things about church administration, ministered to people on the phone, built new relationships, served in outreach events, and came to know my pastors.

Then, the time came when I was finally released to return to full time work. The holy spirit had done something else in me. It was as if, by design, I was not meant to work in the secular world ever again. I realized that God did not want me in a regular job; he wanted me to continue working in my church, with my new family. So, as opportunities came available, I pursued them. After a number of interviews, I wondered what was going on. I knew I heard the Lord right, so why wasn't anything working out? What seemed to be the one obvious obstacle, was there were no full time positions. At the time, it did not matter to me. I had worked three part time jobs before. I could do it again! However, the Lord had lined something up for me, far beyond what I could imagine.

The holy spirit reminded me of a woman I met at a friend's birthday party. She was the only Christian at the party and she worked at a church I am familiar with, as their bookkeeper. She and I discovered we shared many of the same gifts. My new friend also shared that she may be leaving her position to move across the country. When I contacted her weeks later, she urged me to submit my resume right away. My initial interview was scheduled, and went beautifully. There is nothing like interviewing within a church. It gets more than personal; it gets spiritual.

The second interview was scheduled with two others, the Finance Committee Chairman, and their C.P.A. - When we wrapped up our meeting, I was informed they wanted me to return so they could administer a bookkeeping test. This was when I became nervous. It had been quite awhile since I'd used my Accounting, so I set out to brush up and study on church accounting. My friend did tell me she was not certain if she was leaving her position or not. For the next month I prayed for God's will and remained humble to receive whatever work the Lord had for me. When the day of the test arrived, I flew right through it, which concerned me somewhat. Come to find out, I nailed the test. I had actually studied a great deal more than the test included. My pastor assured me God would not let it all go to waste!

Meanwhile, throughout this entire process, I prayed for my friend's circumstances. My focus was not on the job opportunity; it was on her and her children. I trusted God's will and leaned into trusting him even more. My answer came on evening, when the church pastor contacted me. My friend discovered she could not move her children out of state, so she would remain in her position with the church.

The name of a local ministry came up often in the office. Powerhouse Ministries was a place we would refer to those in crisis. They had a transitional living and recovery program, and that is all I really knew at the time. As opportunities for employment within my church continued to pass me by, I prayed to know God's will in this area of my life. Then, one day, while working in my church office, I suddenly thought of Powerhouse Ministries. My thought was to call them and inquire about a job opening. When I did call, I never did connect with a live voice. The automated system led me to the voice mailbox of their transition center Director. Once I left my message, I did not hear back from them.

A few months later, still unemployed and continuing to serve at my church, the holy spirit spoke to me about Powerhouse again! This time I decided to check out their website for possible employment opportunities. When I did, I found they were looking for a Transitional Living Center Facilitator. I happened to be at the library on this particular Friday, using their computers for my job search. After completing the application, I headed out to my car and checked my voice mail messages. there was only one message, which I had just missed:

"Hi Cherie, this is Tamara from Powerhouse Ministries. You called us a couple of months ago about employment. We happen to have a couple of opportunities and I was wondering if you might still be interested. I'd love to talk to you, so give me a call. Our office is about to close, but we can be reached on Monday if you are unable to call before noon."

This is one of those moments where I just stood there, in complete amazement of what God was doing. I literally froze there, in the library parking lot, staring at my phone. When I looked at the time, I saw it was just after 12:00. Darn! Well, I called right baack and left the message I would call back on Monday morning.

All weekend, I was in amazement, and prayed and prayed for even more confirmation. Isn't that funny? Like I really needed any more confirmation than I'd already received! Monday morning was pretty exciting for me, as I headed back to my church for the day. As soon as I walked in, one of the pastors tells me, "Oh, Cherie! You need to call Powerhouse!"

What? How did you know? Did they call you looking for me?

No, but they called my assistant and told her they were looking for a bookkeeper, and I thought of you.

I told him of how the holy spirit moved when I was at the library. He just smiled and nodded. Just make sure to talk to Nancy and tell her I told you to call.

I was working for Powerhouse Ministries within two days. It did not matter how much they wanted to pay me, as long as it met what I was receiving through my disability income. After the first week, my part time position had turned into full time, with benefits! And to confirm God's hand in this even further, the Pastor at the other church told me "You already have the position..in spirit!" This is what he meant. The studying was not meant for the position at his church, but for my work at Powerhouse. The benefits go way beyond the typical employment package. I am able to pray with my co-workers, read my bible, and minister to others.

Can it get any better than this, to know I am exactly where the Lord wants me? Amen!