Embracing Change

Change can come in many forms throughout life. It might come forcefully like a tidal wave, or creep along incrementally like a glacier. It might come in the form of devastating tragedy, difficult choices, broken relationships, or even new opportunities. Even though change is often difficult, many times it’s also for the best. I want to tell you about a big change in my life.

This past week, I made a very difficult decision to leave my job. Over the past few months the Lord has really laid it on my heart that my priorities were completely out-of-order and that I needed to do something about it. I work in public accounting and for the past 7 years, I have been working somewhere between 2,400 and 2,500 hours per year (a standard 40 hour per week job is 2,080 hours per year). While some people seem to be able to maintain some sort of work/life balance in this environment, I am just not one of those people. I am somewhat of an “overachiever” by nature and I have a tendency to throw myself 100% into my work and let everything else fall by the wayside. This can be very detrimental to your marriage, to your spiritual life, and to all the other things that should be and are so much more important than your career.

Although there are a multitude of really good reasons for me to make this decision (even aside from the whole, God is telling me to do this), I was still having a really hard time with actually following through with the decision. Because change is scary. Fear of the unknown is scary. But you know what isn’t scary? God’s sovereignty. He has control. He will take care of me. He was telling me that I needed to “rest.” That is the word I was getting over and over again. If you know me in real life, you know that rest is not in my vocabulary, but I knew it is what I was being told to do. Don’t get me wrong, I wrestled with God for quite a while with it. I was all, “Are you sure?” and He was all, “Yes. I am. Literally. I am the Creator of the universe, the Giver of life, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Healer, Redeemer and Restorer of your soul. Would you like to question me again?” Matthew 11:28 – 30 says “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Here is where the story gets better. I had a sore spot on the top of my foot, and so I made an appointment to go see Dr. Justin. He is a sports chiropractor and if I ever have a running related issue, I go see him immediately. I have seen him for a variety of things over the years, and he has never once told me that I need to take any sort of time off. He looked at my foot this time and said, “You need to rest.” Welp, there you have it. Loud and clear. It was an amazing confirmation for me to receive and helped me to take the final step.

I had a complete sense of peace as I went in to work and explained that I was done. I told them that I didn’t have a plan and quite frankly that I didn’t know what I was going to do (I wasn’t even sure if I was going to continue in public accounting at this point, I just knew that I was going to take some time off to “rest” and see what God had in store), but that I absolutely knew that I was making the right decision. Nothing gives us strength and confidence like an understanding of the sovereignty of God in our lives.

And now, here is where the story gets even better! The day that I told them I was done, I got a call back from a job that I had randomly applied for online over a month prior and hadn’t heard back from until that day. It was like as soon as I let go of my control and walked down the path that God had laid out for me, He immediately took care of me and showed me that He had control. To make a long story longer short, a few days later I accepted an offer for a PART-TIME position at the new job. I will still be a CPA, but I will only be working 20 hours a week during non-busy season and 40 hours a week during tax season. To say I am thrilled would be quite an understatement!

It has only been a few days since all of this has taken place, but I feel like it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have a totally new outlook on life. I have time to do the things that I have always wanted to do! This blog is one of the most immediate, direct effects. I am taking time to read and journal, to focus on my nutrition and to invest in relationships, all while resting in presence of God and His ultimate plan for my life.