In God We Trust

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -- Jeremiah 29:11-13

You know all those clichés about patience?

"Good things come to those who wait."
"Patience is a virtue."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Those aren't much comfort when you're waiting to hear back about a job interview.

I had an interview two weeks ago with US Lacrosse, the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse. The mission of US Lacrosse is to ensure a unified and responsive organization that develops and promotes the sport by providing services to its members and programs to inspire participation, while preserving the integrity of the game.

I found the job on a job board -- it's the position of "Communications Associate" and it's like the perfect job for me. It's part PR, part journalism, part design/desktop publishing. It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades role, which is good, because I still don't know which aspect of Communications I want to focus on yet. But, it's very writing intensive. And I love to write.

So I had this interview and I have never felt so good after leaving a job interview before. I was relaxed, I was confident. I knew my stuff (even though I really know relatively little about lacrosse). The people were great, the office was great. It would just be ideal. It's close to home (the offices are part of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, next to Homewood Field on W. University Parkway), it's a really young staff (2/3 of the people who work there are between the ages of 25 and 32) and best of all it's a chance for me to combine my love of writing and being creative and my passion for sports and sports promotion. Seriously, I was practically giddy after I got out of the interview (and the interview was intense: 2 1/2 hours with 3 different people).

So they said they had one more person to interview, that they were hoping to do that in the next week or so, and then they would let me know their decision either way.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

I feel like I'm waiting to get into college. I check the mailbox the second I get home (they said they would extend an offer letter, but I don't know if that's like, after they send an e-mail or call). I check my cell phone and e-mail compulsively. My dad thinks I should call them and follow up ... I think it's a little too soon to start annoying them. If I haven't heard anything by the beginning of next week, I'll call.

Everybody throws that phrase, "everything happens for a reason," around a lot. But, sometimes I think people say it more as a comfort than because they necessarily believe it. I believe it. I believe there's a reason I'm where I am in my life right now. I may not fully understand that reason, but that's okay. That's pretty much what faith and trust are all about: believing that even if you don't understand, God does.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God knows what plans he has for me. And I believe they are plans to make me prosperous -- not financially, but emotionally and spiritually. And to give me hope. And for a bright future. If this job is going to do that, I'll get it. And if I don't get it, I have to believe there's a reason for that, too.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stalk the mailman.