I have a J-O-B!!!!

Sooooo...big news!! I now have a job for the upcoming school year :0) And I couldn't be more excited! Let me tell you the neat story of how God provided this amazing opportunity....it's a good one!

So rewind to last week. I had interviewed with a school in this same district a few weeks ago. Well, they called last Thursday to offer me that job and gave me only 24 hours to decide (given that I still had several interviews and a job fair scheduled, that wasn't a lot of time to give me to weigh my options). I just didn't feel a peace about accepting it and it wasn't really the type of Special Ed job that I wanted (it was a Resource/Inclusion type job). The principal advised me that the district can be hard to get into (true) and that the job I wanted (LIFE Skills) was usually given to more experienced teachers (also true). However, I just couldn't escape the feeling that God was really calling me to teaching something like LIFE Skills. Plus, the Resource/Inclusion jobs are plentiful so if I didn't take this one, I knew there would be more because of the dire need for them. So, I turned it down, knowing full well God would provide.

Saturday morning, I went to the job fair for this same district. In one word, it was overwhelming. Thousands of people vying for a job in the district all milling around this huge (but not huge enough) arena. Since I was looking for a very specific job, there were only a few with openings so I just went to those tables. However, some did not have a job opening for a LIFE Skills teacher (I had been sent by HR there - I guess HR was misinformed) and some had already filled their opening. However, at this one table, I waited in line to talk to the people manning the table and told them what I wanted. The lady sent me right on up to interview (they do on-site interviews in the bleachers of this arena). The interview itself went fairly well and I really like the teachers I was interviewing with. But, I kinda knew, realistically speaking, they would probably hire someone else with more experience under their belt. So, after milling around for a while longer, I left the fair, feeling somewhat discouraged and wondering why I even came. I also was frustrated that I had stayed up late working on something like 30 portfolios to hand out and was returning home with about 25 of them. Anyways, I went on my merry way and drove to Austin to meet up with people from church there for our Extremely Short Term Missions Trip (another post).

We were eating dinner at Kerbey Lane (SO YUMMY!) that night. I heard my phone ring but didn't get to it in time. It wasn't a number I knew, so I just decided to let the person leave a message. Well, I listened to the message and almost fell out of my chair! He said his teachers really liked me and that he was recommending me for the position! I had also been told to expect to hear something either way in about a week or so so the fact that he called that night shocked me too. What the recommending bit means is that he tells HR that he wants to hire me and then they check all my paperwork and background check and other stuff and then they have to call and officially extend me the offer (hence the reason I waited until today to tell you this story). I did accept this morning with a full peace that this is where I need to be (despite upcoming job interviews that I will now have to turn down/cancel). I had been told by many many people that if I could get in to the district, especially in Special Ed, I needed to take it.

But I have more to tell you about the ways God has provided this perfect job for me. I had several criteria that I really wanted met, but knew realistically that I might not be able to find the perfect school to meet all my criteria. Well, God answered every single prayer about those things! The first is the actual position of LIFE Skills teacher - I wanted it and felt called to it but knew it might be out of my reach until I had more experience, especially for this district. I'm not sure what prompted them to take a chance on me, but I am glad they are! The second is the demographic makeup of the school. It is a Title 1 (which means low income - a certain percentage of the school is on free/reduced lunch) school. Now in other parts of Houston, that is not uncommon. But in this district, it is the exception rather than the rule. The rest of the district is fairly affluent. I worked at a Title 1 school last year as an aide and really liked it. Also, if I work at a Title 1 campus for 5 years, I get loan forgiveness. Yep, you read that right! That means loans I have from my last year at Baylor and all of my grad school (mostly in loans) would be paid for. So yay for that! Next, the location is perfect. I wanted to be able to live in a good part of town that would place me equally distant from church and work and neither would be a chore to drive to. This school, where it is located is perfect and I will probably be able to live in the middle of the two and only drive 10-15 minutes to each! And against the flow of traffic!!! So cool. Another neat thing about this school is that my mom's best friend (who now lives in Kuwait) was a first grade teacher there for a few years and loved the school, so I know the school has a good reputation. Lastly, many of the elementary schools in this district have 900-1000 students and are overcrowded. Yuck. This school only has 450 students! So great.

So that is my wonderful story of how God provided a job for me - not just the minimum - but did immeasurably more than I could ask for (He said He would, so I don't know why I had any question about it). Anyways, I couldn't pass on sharing this info with you and the marvelous way God has provided for me in this. AMEN!

God bless!