Do I Hafta Get a Job?

I don't wanna get a job...
(No, no, no, no!)
Do I hafta get a job?
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
But I won't worry about tomorrow...
(No, no, no, no!)
'Cause the Lord is over me.
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
[It's a James & James song, for those of you who don't know: http://www.myspace.com/jamesnjames]

Yesterday afternoon I planned to go to the career fair for the Business/LAS College. Last week I went to the Social Services career fair, but it wasn't very fruitful. (It turns out that organizations who make no profit are having a difficult time creating jobs in this economy... who knew?) I'm a senior graduating in December at which point I'll be a prime candidate for a real-life, full-time job (along with the thousands of other unemployed workers and recent graduates).

At first, I was excited at the opportunity of talking to actual employers and expanding my horizons and such; but, after sitting at my computer yesterday for an hour-and-a-half scrolling through every business at the career fair, all of my excitement left. Most of the 300-or-so companies didn't have any open positions at the present time and I had already applied for the open job at the only corporation I thought would be worth talking to for me. Having a major like psychology is tough because it offers no specific direction, unless I head to grad school (which I'm not). Psych is cool, though, because it opens a broad range of opportunities and a 4-year degree is certainly valuable. My job search is further complicated by the fact that I'm heavily invested at GABC and Sam is in grad school in Ames, so we'll need to stick around here for awhile (unless God does something dramatic, which I'll try not to be opposed to). Jobs in towns surrounding Ames are definitely a possibility, but I don't like the idea of removing myself from the city where my ministry investment is high (it just isn't very logical).

After I mulled these things over yesterday, I lost a lot of faith that God could/would bless me with a full-time position that allows me to provide for my family. I even considered not going to the career fair because I felt as though it would again be fruitless (the last career fair I went to was humiliating because they are looking for people ready to join the workforce-- and obviously I wasn't one of those people as a freshman). It was about that time that Sam came home. She strongly encouraged me to go to the career fair in faith that God will open doors for me to get a job and that He will provide for our family.

I decided to go, even if it was just to talk to that one employer and build up that network (it's always good if they can meet you face to face rather than just seeing a resume). After getting to Hilton, where all the employers assemble their 5'x5' booths with their displays explaining why their the best company to work for, I had to take a few minutes to pray. I prayed that God would bless me with the confidence (in Christ) to put my best foot forward in faith that He will provide. He gave me just enough to go to that one employer. They asked some great questions and gave encouraging feedback. I'm excited to see what happens there. After that, though, I wanted to leave. I decided to sit up in the bleachers for awhile and "pray it out". That's when I overheard the girl behind me talking to her friend, "I hate this. It's pointless. It's like they see 'sophomore' on my name tag and write me off, just because I can't work full time yet. I went down to Wells Fargo and they were like, 'Sorry, we're looking for someone who is graduating to fill one of our open positions in the area.'"

Through some random girl in Hilton, God provided me with the words I needed to hear. Maybe I do stand a chance and getting a job after all. I went and talked to Wells Fargo, and they took my resume. Hopefully an interview will follow from there. After that, I got excited about the career fair and I talked to five or six more companies who took my resumes and who have open positions they are hiring for. One of the companies even gave me an interview this morning! I think it went well. The position isn't exactly ideal, because it's in downtown Des Moines, but if commuting = providing, I'll do it.

Why do I ever count God out? I've seen Him miraculously provide for me over and over and over again. I am confident that this will be no different. I don't know if He will directly use the career fair to bless me with a job, but I do know this: He is a King who blesses without end, and I am His child with whom He is well pleased because of the cleansing blood of His Son that  has washed every stain away.