True love is a journey

So here I am, first blog entry.  I've been holding off on creating one of these because I've never been really good at committing to journaling or anything to that effect.  However, every time I do write something I feel like a huge creative high and I always benefit from it.  So, here I am . . . let's see how long this lasts, shall we?

My life right now pretty much looks like this.  I'm 23 years old, a baby by most standards, been out of college for almost two and a half years, currently working at what I pretty much would consider my dream job.  It took allot to get me here . . . this job by no means fell into my lap post-commencement ceremony, it took allot of steps of faith and what seemed to be idiotic decisions at the time.  So let's do a little time travelling to see how I got here.

It's April 2008, the end of my senior year of college at Southeastern University (which was year five total for me as I did a year of part-time at a local community college.)  I'm just barely 21 years old and pretty much scared out of my mind.  The majority of my friends have plans for their immediate lives; most of them are getting married, some of them have jobs lined up, and then there's me . . . the minority.  I have a job opportunity to go to Australia and work with the Hillsong church; please don't misunderstand, this was not a job offer, this was a shot in the dark.  A friend of a friend works for Hillsong United and I was given his number at the end of my ministerial internship summer of 2007 with the instructions to, "sure, give him a call, maybe he'll be able to point you in the right direction."  . . . ok . . .

Australia had allot of prospects for me; I sincerely admire the work that Hillsong United does.  After being on a tour team for the better part of two years, I fell in love with the road, ministry with teenagers through worship teams, and the comradery of being in a travelling band.  Hillsong seemed like a really great idea, I could pursue the dream that God had given me of working with teenagers with a Christ-centered attitude.  The only catch was . . . I didn't really want to work in a church, I'd been there, done that, loved it, but felt like that season of my life was meant to be just that - a season.  Australia had other perks; a really good friend of mine whom I had been entertaining the idea of a relationship with lived there.  Auss also has some of the most beautiful landscape and intense surf in the world, I've always been fascinated by it.  To sum up; awesome job, awesome guy, incredible place to live . . . all seeming to work right?

Here's the cliff Christy, you can jump in faith and trust that this is what God wants . . . this is what I told myself over and over.  The only trouble is that I've always relied on the discernment that God has given me; when my spirit isn't ok with something, as a rule of thumb I follow what it's telling me.  Needless to say, my spirit was not ok with this decision (no matter how long I frustratingly tried to convince it otherwise!) Why? This all seemed to work out on paper, what's the deal?

Graduation day:  I walk across the podium, shake Dr. Rutland's hand and when he says, "preach the word" with a smile on his face, I reply, "I will, I promise" with tears in my eyes.  No idea where I'm going from here . . . not to Australia . . . back home? Really? I came to this place at this time to what . . . go back to spiritually dead Long Island? And do what there? Work in a church, no, I don't want to do that.  Ok, your degree is in Practical Theology and you're going to do what with that? This was the question *everyone* was asking me to which I would smile and reply, "not sure yet, I just know that this is where God has me now . . . can I get you another drink?" as I step back behind the bar.  Yep, you got it, bartending from summer of 2008 - november of 2009.


***to interject during this time period I did allot of soul-searching and allot of growing up and figured out that this indeed was where I was meant to be, here, on Long Island, I just didn't know doing what.  Oh . . . and the guy in Australia? We're good friends and now he's married to a very nice girl. ***


Here we are, November of 2009, been out of school for a little over a year now, my last bartending job ended two months ago, on craigslist every day, looking for some form of job that isn't the restaurant bizz.  I come across an ad for an Executive Assistant position in my town and I figure, why the heck not? I've been on craigslist for the past 8 months to no avail, I'm currently unemployed and this could work.  After a series of lame interviews and lack-luster positions I take a breath and send in my resume to this no-name job offer to which I get a response in a little less than an hour.  I interviewed later that week and for the second time in my life I felt this feeling . . . this feeling of this is exactly where God wants me to be, right here, right now (the first time I felt this was my visit to SEU.)  Ok, great feeling but this is only an interview . . . don't get your hopes up.  Leaving the interview I called my mom crying which came as kind of a surprise to her, our usual post-interview convo went something like this . . . mom:  "hi sweety, how did the interview go" me:  "*sigh* meh, alright I guess . . ."  The convo after this particular interview, me crying saying, "mom, if I don't get this job, I'm going to lose it, I just know this is where God wants me."  So good ol' mom prayed and I then enlisted (via text) all of my friends to petition the throne that I get this job.


I get a phone call about 20 minutes after the interview, "hello Christiana? Hi, it's (insert name here) from your interview.  I just spoke with the Executive Director and he would really like to have you come in for a second interview this week." . . . I think I gushed so much at that second interview that my now boss probably thought I was on drugs.  What do I like about your organization? Everything (insert prattle for about fifteen minutes in one breath.)


So here I am, working at a non-profit organization that houses *get this* at-risk teenage boys and fosters them for a year in a *get this* Christ-centered environment.  

Hello? Christy? It's God, yep, I'm that good, just thought I'd remind you, ya moron.


It's August 17, 2010 and I work as an executive assistant mon-fri and mentoring specialist on the weekends at the same place.  The place where God has called me.  The place that He had in mind the whole time I was freaking out.  Know what else? I've used everything I learned during my time at Southeastern and at the church I worked at.  Amazing! Not only that, working with these boys has taught me what I thought was unattainable; unconditional love.  It's crazy, I tell my mom almost every day, I've never loved anyone before like I love these kids.  It's like Jesus just leaves His fingerprints all over their faces, they're undeniably beautiful, and His handywork is unfathomably awe-striking.  You know that this is *the place* when you don't want to go home and all you want to do is spend all your free time here.  Oh and get this, I actually get paid for what I got my degree in.  Who woulda thunk it?


Many tears, months of unemployment, loads of uncertainty, a broken heart, dreams seemingly dashed, many many many conversations of second-guessing my decision to come back to Long Island, and one incredibly faithful God (and wonderful friends/family that put up with me through that valley and helped put back the pieces of my broken heart.)


I'm 23, a baby by most standards . . . and life has really just begun for me, all over again. :-)


Vivimos para glorificar Tu Nombre