Fulfilling A Purpose

I've experienced countless burdens throughout this life, just as I'm sure you have. I've felt the sting of pain from losing loved ones, battled disease firsthand, struggled with situations that seemed impossible to conquer.....there are numerous others. But I have never dealt with my present burden before.
Daniel has been an Intern at Morgan Keegan Financial Firm for the past two years. When Daniel graduated from UT this past December, they agreed to keep him on staff until he found a permanent job. For 8 months now, Daniel has diligently been searching for a job. Hundreds of resumes have left our hands, a plethora of contacts have been made, and no job listing has been left unread. Email after email that we have received have all resounded the same..."Position Has Been Filled."
Around 3 months ago we had an amazing opportunity for a teller position at Regions bank. Daniel made it all the way to a 3rd Interview! We were so hopeful. We felt self-assured that this was going to be where the Lord would place him. We were encouraged with every piece of information we received. Things were moving in a wonderful direction and relief started to settle in to our home. We could feel burdens lifting from our heavy hearts with each passing day.
After a few stagnant days with no phone calls, emails or correspondence, our excitement settled to a lull. What happened? Everything was moving so wonderfully. Daniel was never called to schedule a time for his 3rd Interview that he was assured he had. Upon calling the HR department, Daniel learned that the position had been filled by a last minute interviewee who was already a teller and needed to transfer to the Knoxville area. Seeing as how Daniel would require training, the eager transfer was hired immediately. POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED! We were devastated, but held our ground. We held close to the promise that the Lord would provide and take care of us.
Months have passed now and we have felt trapped. We have not received any job leads or contacts. There has not been any positive movement. In the back of our minds we keep telling ourselves, "Thankfully we still have the Internship that can provide some financial help." However, three weeks ago we were informed that Daniel and the rest of the Interns were being put on furlough. Two weeks ago Friday marked Daniel's last day at Morgan Keegan.
Daniel and I are facing the reality of life's hardships early on. At times it seems unfathomable to me that a man with a college degree in Finance and Business Administration cannot find a job. Do these people not know what a wonderful asset to their company that my husband would be!?!? Sometimes I just want to scream at the top of my lungs, "Please just give him a chance!"
In all of our trials and troubles, one thing remains constant...The Lord Is Faithful. The other day at work I was feeling so discouraged and I completely cried out, "Lord, please give me a verse that I can cling to during this time!" The burdens have been building up and the sadness from all of the rejections will overtake my being at times. At that moment I looked over to a message board that I have in my office. Buried under the post-its and pin ups I saw my handwriting peering through. I brushed aside the reminders of the business of life and saw a verse I had written on my board around 2 years ago. "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, oh Lord, endures forever-do not abandon the works of your hands." Psalm 138:8 Oh, yes! How could I forget? I had memorized this verse 2 years ago when I was desperately trying to get into Grad School. ALL odds were against me. There was no way that I would make it in the program. However, against missing the application deadline, not making the score on the GRE after my first 3 attempts, not having had the classes I needed for qualification, and many other things, the Lord orchestrated everything together for me to get in. Not only to get in, but to start that current semester! The Lord has always worked for my good and continues to! He works with our benefit in mind. The Lord IS fulfilling his purpose for me. And whether that purpose is for Daniel to get a job soon, or for us to end up with $0 in the bank account so it draws us closer to God, his purpose WILL be fulfilled for us. Our creator can do anything he wills and promises his best for us.
A new peace is turning up for us. We know now more than ever that the Lord is orchestrating something wonderful for us. All of these "rejections" have clearly been closed doors for us and the Lord is going to place Daniel where he desires for him to be. Who am I to worry about such things when I know that the Lord will work for our good? It's so unreal how quick I am to forget some of God's promises to us. Especially when I've seen him prove himself numerous times in my life. I can't wait for the day when I will write on our blog about where Daniel received a job-and I know that day is coming. Until then, I will keep reminding myself... rest easy, beloved, the Lord will not abandon the works of his hands.