Friday, June 09, 2006

Finding a job, or just finding something

I am currently residing in Kamloops, B.C., where my parents live and I have lived for about 11 years. It's a nice place, potentially relaxing and entertaining in its own unique fashion.
One difficulty does arise for students (like myself) when they are attempting to fit back into Kamloops life: finding a decent job. A job which will pay for at least a portion of one's tuition and living expenses while allowing survival of the Kamloops summer (it's a neo-desert climate... for those who know me, yes, I get quite warm). So far, I have a position at DHL (aka Loomis), sorting packages. Other positions I have held this summer include entry watch at a pulp mill, farmer at an organic farm, and various chore-like activities. Sadly, the DHL job is at nasty times and hence blocks out a few other positions I have applied for, not that I'm overly concerned. You see, I know that whatever happens this summer, God will take care of me as He always has, and so my concern turns more to a question of whether I am seeking work which God would have me do, a question which is not as easy to discern as I may communicate. In my experience, He isn't interested as much in the job as the person doing the job, and how the relationships presented in the employment are fostered and grown.
Understand that, although I have taken 4 years of psychology and have many friends in various locales, relationships are hard. They take a lot of work and trust on both sides to make them strong and lasting. I can listen to people and keep up my side of the deal, but there are only rare times when I accept others doing the same, especially when I know that I will never see those people again. Hence my difficulty with that side of God's interests in my summer employment.
I suppose the reason for all this blathering is just to say that at times God's will and your own may not coincide, whether the reason is the difference in perspective (as one may imagine), or your self-interests. My suggestion is patience (difficult even for the most saintly of us) and a healthy dose of God's point of view (ie. ask yourself What does God want with the world? What does He seem to want with me? What is tearing at God's heart?). No guarentee, but those things have been helpful to me in the past few months of seemingly hopeless job searching, so perhaps they'll be of some small consolation to any who may be struggling with similar troubles.