A lesson in patience.

A year ago, when I started this blog, it was with the hope of recording my thoughts and gaining support for a trip to Cambodia, as part of my home church's desire to serve our brothers and sisters in another country, and to voice some things related to faith, and blog my thoughts before commencing an apprenticeship in Ministry.

In the year just passed, much has changed, and I have spent a lot of that time in uncertainty.
The major effect of all of this is that 4 months ago, I decided to put my trip to Cambodia on hold. I felt that God was no longer directing me down that path, at least not in the interim.
This was backed up by the fact that I left my job in September and was not finding work to raise the money.

I couldn't understand what on earth God was doing - my finances were in a quandary, my personal relationships were changing, everything I was excited for was falling out from under me, and my passion for sharing the Gospel was proving difficult to maintain. Somehow I felt I had lost all direction and drive for anything. Applying for jobs was anything but encouraging, and as the papers reported more and more job losses and worsening financial conditions, I found myself almost giving up.

But God's grace was still evident to me.

I was given the opportunity to pay off debt through volunteer work over the summer. At a very crucial point a brother and sister in Christ, with the purpose of using what they had for God's glory, generously shared with me and supported me financially. People were letting me know daily that they were praying for me. There was no way God was going to let me forget that He was exercising His will in my life.

Eventually, I came to the realisation that God was teaching me patience, and joy in patience. I found myself one afternoon, reading Matthew 6 and 7, and really resonating with what Christ was speaking of, and fighting off suggestions of doing this TAFE course, or that school-cleaner job, I stuck to what I firmly believed, that God was going to provide the job that he had for me.

God provided a job opening through my brother.
3 weeks before the ad was put out, I got a heads up about 5 positions being made available in a department at AAMI. I spent a day praying, preparing my documents, and hand delivering them.
I waited.
and waited.
I heard that the job applications were above 200 people. I waited. I got a phone interview, and felt encouraged.
Then I heard 350 people had applied. I had resigned to the fact that if it was not what God had intended for me, then I would return back to University, intending not to be idle for the year.
The day after I went in to speak to the education faculty, nearly 6 weeks after my application went in, I got a phone call and was invited in for a face to face interview.
The interview was fantastic, and encouraging.
I heard the day before uni started that I had the job. I was ecstatic.

Through those months, I had learned a few things:
- I realised that God had a season for me of unemployment and that it was a gift that I could rejoice in.
- I learned much about humility, and accepting gifts from others.
- I learned that patience doesn't mean stopping, but in accepting the delay, continuing to seek and pursue God's will.

I know there will be seasons like this in the future, and this was just the first of many.
There is much more to the story which I will happily share over a coffee, but this post is already beyond a Tim Challies post, and getting through it has probably been a test of patience for you too.
But may God be glorified. I know that His promises are true, and my trust in Him is growing daily.