Over the past (almost) eleven years I have been at home, as in not in paid employment. I’ve cared for children (mine and others), I’ve volunteered at places that I’ve valued, and I spent time with family and friends. I’ve also invested time writing and publishing books that I am really proud of. Like many stay at home parents I’ve also felt the guilt that can come with not bringing in an income, especially as prior to kids and illness I hadn’t stopped working since I accepted my first babysitting job at fourteen.
Over the last year or so, though my desire to earn an income continued to bubble up to the surface on occasion, I found myself becoming more and more comfortable with not being in paid employment. I was always busy, I was doing things of value, I could support my kids, husband and family however they needed, I got to go on the occasional drive with my husband and spend some really special one on one time with him, and I loved being at home. Interestingly, as how I felt about being at home changed, and I began to value more what I had gained through being home, my perception on jobs changed too. As little as two years ago I approached potential employment and interviews as an arena where I had to prove myself and fit in with whatever needs and desires the business/employer I was presenting myself too expressed. But this year when I saw a job I liked the look of advertised, I found myself interviewing them as much as they interviewed me. From reading the job post to actually speaking with the interviewer/s my mindset was very different. I was thinking of how to maintain the good things and routines I have created for my home and family, rather than simply how they would be impacted, and I posed those questions at my interview, I asked them how they could fit with my life, not just how I could slot into theirs. When I expressed where I saw myself going with them, I also listened to where they saw themselves going, and gauged if it was inline with the future I saw for myself and my family. For the first time in my working life I knew what I valued, what I was willing and unwilling to give up, what I was willing to take on, and I could confidently express what value I could offer to my potential employer. Which brings me to my new opportunity. I got not just ‘A Job’ but ‘The Job’. You know the one I’m talking about. The job that you enjoy, that challenges, and stimulates you, but doesn’t overwhelm you. The job that allows time for you to have the lifestyle you want, while bringing in a wage that provides the funds for you to have/do some of the things that can make your life more pleasant, and also the job that allows you to serve the greater good. I’ve only been at my new job for just over a week and every day I’ve been excited about going, more excited than I’ve been for any other job. My job allows me to meet people, to serve my family, my community, and my God. I’m so proud to say that I am the new Administrator at my church, and I can honestly say it feels as though this job was custom made for me. I am so excited about this opportunity. I can’t wait to further support my Pastor, grow my Church, and love on every single person who enters through the doors of our Spiritual home (be it physically or virtually). As I look back at that time at home, at all those moments when I worried about not bringing in a wage. I realise that the time I spent unemployed hasn’t been wasted, instead every single moment has set me up to do my job well. It’s taught me to work independently, to set myself and the people around me up for success, to create simple routines that I can grow and build on, and to understand hospitality on a whole new level. Now as I start a new adventure into the world of paid employment I get to use the skills I gained during that time to recognise and help people feel loved and connected. In case you were wondering, I will still be writing, though my timeframes will be longer as a learn to navigate my new time restrictions, and build routines that allow me to do the things I place the most importance on. I still get do all the things I love that I used to do, like care for my kids, because my job fits around their school hours perfectly. I am so grateful that God perfectly placed me for this job and then gave me the push to apply (I was dreaming about all the exciting possibilities and ways I could help and woke up at 4:30am with so many ideas that I couldn’t get back to sleep and knew I needed to apply). I pray that whatever you are doing in this season, you find yourself perfectly placed for opportunities that are beyond what you even considered asking for. God bless Karla
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Karla RoseI'm a Christian, a wife, and a mother of two living in the wonderful Waikato Archives
April 2021
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