Conrad & I were talking in the bathroom the other night about how amazing it is that even though it may not seem like it at the time, God is always taking care of you by laying out the right path for how your life will go. This discussion came upon the heels of a few things.
Life at T-mobile seemed to get turbulent almost immediately after we moved up here. Within a few months of Conrad starting his new job, he had to lay off 20 people in his team. Then his boss was let go. Then his boss's boss was let go & replaced. There was reorganization after reorganization. I think he counted he had 8 leadership changes within 4 years. Worries increased last year when the announcement of T-mobile's merge with AT&T came out. This was significant because T-mobile's corporate office is up here, where Conrad worked, & rumors were already spreading about massive layoffs to the area (why would AT&T keep two corporate offices...). The deal fell through though, which ended up leading to even more job losses. 7 call centers were closed down, impacting thousands of people. Finally, the layoffs bled into the sales teams, & Conrad's job was impacted.
When we heard the news, it was sad, but in a way it was almost a relief to finally know what was going to happen. It felt like we could live again instead of function under a constant shell of worry. It was as if God was firmly shutting that door saying, "No more of living like this. It is now time for you [Conrad] to follow my lead & take this chance to pursue a career that you will be successful & happy in." It was that strong.
Fast forward a few weeks... Conrad came across a job posting at Barrier Mercedes. If anyone knows Conrad, you know he is a car fanatic. During our marriage, he's had, in order: Jeep Laredo, 330ci BMW, Grand Cherokee, 530 BMW, 540 BMW, Trailblazer SS, Porcshe 911 Turbo, Landrover & Jeep SRT8. This doesn't include his two motorcycles LOL. He actually went around saying he had a "car disease" as if it were an actual medical condition. We're laughing now as I told him what I just wrote haha! Anyway, the point is that he adores cars. He memorizes everything about them, "Ah, Michelle, did you know my SRT8 goes from 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, whereas the Porsche Turbo does it in 3.9 with a tiptronic transmission?" His ability to memorize & recall car facts is uncanny.
So, back to the job... He knew his corporate background may be odd to someone looking to get into the car business & he kept thinking about it. Next thing I knew, he was getting dressed in his formal attire, printing off his resume & cover letter & declaring to me that he was going to go down to the dealership to introduce himself & deliver his information in person. He went. They were impressed. They flat out said normally they don't take resumes in person, that all applicants needed to go online & go through their human resources department, but in this case they were going to go ahead & pass everything along. :-) Conrad did go through the online process just in case. :-) A few days later, he was called! The interview process lasted about a month & the miracle came. He got the job!!! With no experience with dealerships, they chose him! What a blessing & a sign from God that this is what he should do. I firmly believe God gave Conrad his photographic memory for car facts, passion for cars & charisma & was just waiting for the right time to give Conrad his dream job. Ironically, our T-mobile service ended the day Conrad got the job, which felt like that chapter in our life was officially over.
Another beautiful thing...my photography business exploded this month, right when we needed it. :-D
Then more great news, my close friend, who's been trying to have a baby for almost 6 years is finally pregnant, with twins. God is so good!!! It reminded me of my own struggles to have a baby.
All these events got me thinking & realizing more & more that God is always looking out for us & is taking care of us. It isn't always apparent, especially during difficult times. It is usually after, when we are blessed, that we see how his path through hardship was what we needed to go through in order for things to be right in our future. I know for me, I realized after I had Bronwen, "Oh, this is why we needed to wait to have children," though it was so hard to be patient at the time. :-)
Anyway, we all go through hard times, even those who seem like their life is perfect. The cool thing is that having faith & realizing that God is in control makes these burdens bearable. Isn't it such a wonderful feeling to realize that you are just following God's plan & that you don't have to worry so much about trying to take control by yourself? This is not to say to sit around waiting for things to get better on their own, or to not be proactive & help situations, rather to pray about what you can do to help things, then to listen to what God is telling you in your heart. Kind of heavy for a Friday, but great to think about.
Here's to a beautiful weekend! Happy Friday!
Love,
The Douglases
