Changes....

After a challenging year employment wise preceded by many years of other challenges, God is moving me.  If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I would be in NJ long I would have said, "Heck no!"  Fast forward to 6 months ago and ask me if I would be leaving NJ any time soon and I would have said, "No way!"  

Why the change?  It is all about the connections!  I moved here to be closer to my big brother and his family.  Since then I have not only bonded with them but also with an amazing church family.  This church family and friends have supported me through a difficult time through nursing school, illness, brain surgery, and job loss.  This past 6 months when I didn't get unemployment initially and had to wait through the long appeals process, which is still happening, my church family has helped me emotionally and practically when I didn't know where money for rent would come let alone food.  I never wanted for anything that I needed.  This is exactly the purpose of the church body and they lived it out.  

Back in December a friend visited Texas and told me I should look into hospitals there as the economy was booming.  They also said I would love it.  I quickly responded "no way!"  I am finally grounded with connections and I had no intentions of going anywhere.  God has used the past years of struggle to both grow me and to teach me about relationships.  

Fast forward to March.  I still had no job; no prospects even, as the nursing market is very poor in NJ.  It only got worse when the largest health care system laid off 90 people.  I finally decided to spend a day applying for jobs outside of NJ.  I didn't have a focused plan, I literally went state by state, place by place and decided if it was a place I thought I could live, then applied.  Within 2 hours of applying to a hospital in Fort Worth, TX I had a call from the Chief Nursing officer and had a phone interview.  When I got off, I immediately said, "No way, I am not leaving Jersey!"  That night as I was going to bed, I was spending time reading my bible and praying.  I finally conceded and told the Lord, "if you want me to go you will have to make it abundantly clear!"  The next morning I woke up with a sense that I was moving.  I can't really explain it other than it was both a knowing and a peace that filled me.  I spent the day applying to a few other hospitals to see if I could line up a few interviews at the same time.  Again within an hour or two I had an email requesting to set up a phone interview.  

Within a few weeks, God provided the money for a plane ticket and rental car, and 3 free nights in a hotel.  All this occurred in ways that could only be explained by the mighty God I serve.  I now had 4 interviews, more than I had in NJ in all the time I was looking for jobs...100's of applications I had put out.  When I returned from my trip to Fort Worth, Texas I had 3 job offers to decide from and things moved quickly from there.  

I don't know anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area but I have peace that God is going before me and preparing the way.  I also am excited for the change and to see what God has planned for me.  I am incredibly sad to be leaving my family and friends but I am excited at the same time for this upcoming change.  Only God knows, and I have learned over the past 5 years to go for the ride and have my eyes and ears open as to not miss a thing.