Five years ago, I hated my job. I had spent the past year and a half working in electronic banking. Who knew an English degree would land me a job in electronic banking? Anyway, the job was pretty neat and interesting at first, and it was paying the bills, but after some changes in management and a new supervisor who was clueless and unwilling to learn, working there became unbearable. I remember telling God every day how much I hated my job. I told him so much and so often, that He finally took it away from me (read: I was fired).
God warned me though. It's one of the few times that I knew clearly that something would happen. It was so clear in my spirit that I could feel it, which is why the news wasn't so shocking when it happened. I was relieved.
The day I was fired, I was making plans to go to an interview in my hometown in Georgia. I was in Louisiana at the time, and I was stressed out about two things: 1. Asking for time off and 2. Getting a flight to Georgia. Thankfully, I decided not to fly because time suddenly opened up for me to drive home. As far as asking for time off, I did ask my supervisor for time off, and she said it would be fine. It was kinda dirty to make me work the whole day though, but anyway.
Word travelled fast about my firing. My old supervisor (who hired me for the position, but then left due to management changes) called me almost immediately after it happened to give me advice on what I could do or should do. She encouraged me to talk to HR to ask for the chance to resign instead, which I did, so officially I resigned.
I was reading about Joseph today, and it reminded me of this situation. First of all, I think Joseph was kind of a punk and that's what got him thrown in a pit and sold as a servant. He was a bit prideful about his visions in the beginning even though they were true. I mean he was already the favorite and now he's saying he's gonna rule over all of them. Anyway, after Joseph becomes powerful and rescues his family from famine, Joseph's brothers were worried that once their father died, Joseph would treat them harshly or kill them. Instead, Joseph tells them not to worry because what they did to harm him, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20-21).
I didn't see it while it was happening, but God meant my firing for good. Shortly after I was fired, I had found a new job (not the one that I interviewed the week I was fired). The person who fired me was fired because after I left, some of the essential processes were not being done because I was not given the opportunity to adequately train someone else to do my job. I wouldn't say that I'm glad she lost her job, but it did pave the way for my hard-working co-worker to take on a supervisory role, which makes me glad. She deserved that position in the first place, so I feel like God set things right.
As for me, I was set on a trajectory that took me from testing to advising to becoming an advising coordinator. I also left a relationship and eventually met the one meant for me. I can clearly see that what others meant to harm me, God meant for good. And I have this great life lesson to pass on to others about setbacks and journeys.
Kimberly
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