Permanent

Last year, George got a promotion at work. I think it may have been the worst promotion in the history of all promotions. First, he went from hourly to salaried plus commission. His hours increased a LOT and he moved branches, so his commuting time did as well and he couldn't come home during the day. For nearly two months, he only received base (still never figured out why that was standard procedure) so we took a gigantic, I mean gigantic pay cut. Once the commission started rolling in, we were right back to what he had been making, only he was working a lot more! His weekend work increased and Mon-Fri he would leave home around 6 and not come back until 7:30 or even 8. To put it lightly, this was hell.

As soon as we realized the promotion was going to look like this, George started applying for jobs elsewhere. The promotion came a wee bit sooner that we had expected. Since George was working all the time, I really stepped up the oh-so-frustrating job search and broadened the search to include most of Texas (but no Lubbock, because....just no). He had phone interviews just about every month and some in-person interviews as well. The problem was, once in the interview, the company would end up being just as sweatshop-y as where he was, only there was not the same level of job security or seniority. Boo!

In August, George went to a hiring blitz at his dream company. Dream company! It was an intense interview- it consisted of an orientation, a presentation he prepared, a panel interview and a sales call to managers in another room. I was so proud of him, he did so well!!

Then, he got the call. They said they were sorry, but they weren't able to hire as many people as they anticipated. However, they said they were really interested in him and wanted to keep in touch, that he would just need to interview with a hiring manager in the future. We were sad. That was the dream job.

Well, each month, Dream Company would call with an update, insisting that George was on the top of their list, but that hiring kept getting pushed back.

Then came December. On the day I found out I was pregnant, Dream Company called. With an offer. No more interviews required. They wanted George to start in January...as a contract employee! He would be contracted for 6-9 months and hired "upon performance" afterward. It couldn't be easy could it?

They gave us a week to give an answer and ask questions. Believe it or not, this was a VERY hard decision! Hell Job had one major, major thing going for it- job. security. G was golden boy there and basically nothing could threaten his job. He also had benefits and though he rarely used it, time off (and would be eligible for paternity leave when the baby came).

Dream Company made the same amount of money, but get this, it's only 40 hours a week. George has NEVER only worked 40 hours a week. The company culture is about a million times better than Hell Job and the career outlook is amazing. That contract thing just kept grabbing us. The contract would be up right around the time we have baby #2. What if it wasn't renewed or he didn't get permanent? We had about a dozen 'what if' questions. None of them were answered definitively.

So we prayed. A lot. And this is what we figured, a hundred bad things can happen at any time and there is nothing we can do about it. We can trust in God and try our hardest to be where we think He has us. The safest place to be is squarely in the will of God. Figuring out 'where' that is can be the hard part.

So, we did it. We took the biggest leap of faith we have ever taken as a family.

And God showed up!

On Friday, after 6 weeks of work, not 6-9 months, George was informed that he will no longer be a contract employee. He becomes a permanent, full time employee of Dream Company starting March 31st.

I am still in shock and awe of God's goodness to us. Yes, my hubby is rockin' this new job and working hard, but God is oh-so-good! I cannot even begin to express the ramifications of this change and the massive amount of joy and gratitude I am feeling. We are so overwhelmed with this blessing and it is just so much more than I imagined would happen to us. What I love most about this job is that George is valued. No one mistreats him or tries to cheat him. He comes home mentally exhausted sometimes, but glowing. I know that sounds so cheesy, but this is work that is good for him. I couldn't ask for more! Thank you, thank you, Lord!!

Now of course, it couldn't all be so easy. Dream Company is quite the commute, so in September, when our lease is up and we have a brand new baby, we will be moving! I don't know where, but surely I'll figure that out in the next 5 months or so. We still have to keep things lively around here. ;-)

And on a side note, I know I refer to his last job as Hell Job, but I am joking. It was career boot camp and prepared him for where he is now. It wasn't easy for any of us, but it was a good job for us for a season (a season that ended before the job did:) and we are very grateful for it. It also serves as a giant dose of perspective to what a "bad day" really looks like. Ha!