Trust

In just a few short weeks, I will leave my current and comfortable job as a hospital RN to venture into the world of school nursing. No more twelve hour shifts, weekends, and rotating holidays. No more getting randomly pulled to work on a different floor in the hospital. No more being on call...but is that all really a good thing? I don't know. I love the people I work with. I love working with the kids. Well, I am glad I will still be with kids as a school nurse, it will just be in a majorly different setting. I will be home everyday around 3 p.m. I will be off every weekend with Chad. I will have all holidays and summers off to be with the family. Sounds great, eh!? However, the money I made at the hospital made us comfortable. We, sadly, didn't really have to watch our pennies all that much. However, taking a position at the school means a major pay cut. Am I crazy!? Our finances will be so tight. There is hardly any wiggle room left for weekend road trips, going out to dinner, or movies...etc. We have a new addition to our family and I accepted a job with less money!? AAHHH. So, why did I do it?
I work on the oncology unit at the hospital. I found myself always depressed and questioning God. Why does He allow this to happen to these precious children? It was getting so hard to see children die after they suffer a long battle with cancer while their families pray hard for their healing. I also struggled with being away from Madi (Mason not yet born) for such long hours. I would leave before she was awake and I would get back around the time she would be going to sleep. My faith was wavering and I felt that my effectiveness was diminishing.
I spent the last year and a half praying for God to show me His plan for my next step. I didn't doubt that God wanted me to have the experience of working on the children's oncology unit. In fact, I have learned so much from it. One of the things I learned was that God continues to reside in even the toughest situations. Even when it seems He isn't around and He has forgotten His people.
I met a beautiful little girl that is now with her Father in heaven. Her long battle is now over. During her battle, her family prayed for her healing. Even at the very end of her fight when she was struggling to make sense of her existence and everything around her because the cancer was in her brain, she still sang praises to Jesus with all her heart. She still sang and lived with such joy!!! She was so gracious and kind. At her funeral, her family said that God had, in fact, answered their prayers for her healing. They had faith that God would heal her. They just didn't know how. He healed her alright. He healed her by taking her from this cruel and unfair world. He rescued her and now holds her in His arms. She is with him in heaven and couldn't be happier. Her family knows this and they are so thankful that God healed her of her disease. Wow, what an example of true faith.
So, back to the reason I am taking the position as a school nurse. God heard my pleas for direction and change. I have to admit. In the midst of it all, I wondered occasionally if God was listening. I was afraid. I looked for jobs in the classifieds, but never really found anything. If I found something that seemed like a job I would like, it would be at the wrong time and I wouldn't even be able to apply. I had to stay put so that I would have paid maternity leave. I couldn't very well start a new position and expect to be paid during leave if I just started.
Anyway, our church recently took part in Clean Slate. During Clean Slate, volunteers from our church and community get together to makeover homes for struggling families. However, one of the places they made over was a school. One of the rooms in the school was a nurse's office. I got to thinking, and I couldn't get the idea out of my mind. I don't know why, because I thought that would come later when the kids were in school so that we would have the same hours and days off, etc. So, I never really thought about it for now. Seeing as how I laid awake at night thinking about school nursing, I decided to look for openings. I found a couple of positions and asked my dad (who used to be in education) if I should apply now or wait a while (seeing as how the position was for next year and the current school year was not yet over) and his response was "apply now!"
Okay, so I started the application process. Then through research on the internet, found out for myself that I needed a teaching certificate before I could be hired as a school nurse. What? So, I researched and found out what I needed in order to get my certificate. Well, come to find out, one of the things required was to have fingerprints done in order to get my certificate. I could have requested the card from the department of education (as required, the cards must be from them not from the sheriff's office) but by the time I mailed in my request and then waited to receive it. And then, go to the sheriff's office and get my prints and then mail the card back, weeks would go by. So, I decided to pile the kids into the car and drive straight to the state department of education (which is about an hour and a half away). My mother and brother graciously tagged along to help with the kiddos. So, by driving to the OSDE, everything was complete that day for them to start processing my application for my certificate which could take 2-3 months to receive.
Now, to turn in my application for the school nurse position. Human resources received my application, but stated that I should take a copy directly to the site principal. The reason being, this was the last week - they were making their hiring decisions soon and this was Thursday!!! I set out the next morning to take my application to the school. I walked in and spoke with a lovely receptionist who took my application, but told me to wait there. The principal walked up and introduced herself and asked if I could stay and answer a few questions. She interviewed me there on the spot and then gave me a tour of the school. Everything just felt so right and she was so easy to talk to. I was even asking her questions as if I already had the job. Like, "so, do I get to decorate my office however I want?" haha. Before I left, she stated that she would let me know by early next week and thanked me for coming. That same day, just three hours after my spur of the moment interview, I received a call from the principal. She said that she had been interviewing people all week and still hadn't made a decision, and when I came in last minute - after talking to me...she just knew I was the perfect fit for their school. She offered me the position. I reluctantly accepted after speaking with Chad. The whole time thinking, this has to be from God. The door is WIDE open. Thank you Jesus for making my path so clear. Since that time, I have been waiting on my certification. Time is running out and I am meeting with human resources to finish up my paperwork on Wednesday. However, without the certification, my paperwork can't be completed and I don't get paid. I went to get the mail today, just two days before I meet up with HR. My certification was here. ;)