Week 30: "I think I'll go to Boston..." Week

Well hello, everyone! It's been a little while, huh? I am ok- it's just been a crazy week and a half, that's for sure. It's honestly amazing how quickly a person's life can change in that amount of time. I'll explain:

I'd like to start by saying that Date Week went well. It was awesome to catch up with friends I haven't seen for a bit. It was during Date Week that I was at my friend Kate's house. It's been awesome because I have been able to spend a good amount of time with my friend Kate, whom I love dearly but hadn't spent a ton of time with her before unemployment. We had watched a movie one night and then I stayed the night over there. The next day we got up and applied for jobs. A couple days earlier, I had chatted with my friend Prezza who passed on an email about a job in Quincy, MA. Out of all the jobs I've applied to (somewhere around 80 ish), I had only applied to a couple outside of Illinois and Indiana.

The day that I was at Kate's I applied to the position in Quincy for The Salvation Army. I honestly didn't think anything would come of it considering I'd gotten a handful of interviews- not a lot compared to the amount of jobs I'd applied to. About 4 hours later, I received a call from Doug, the person hiring for this job in Quincy. We talked for about 10 minutes, realized we had a lot of the same connections, talked about the position, and he told me that he'd be in touch. The next day, I was offered a job. He had talked to my references and more, prayed and felt God was saying I was the right person. I was in shock. For real.

The next week and a half was the most difficult as far as decision making. I cried (a lot), wasn't going to take the job because I'd miss my family and friends, but then maybe I should have the job because it would be a good experience, but I'd miss so much at home.....I wrestled with it, questioned a lot, keep asking God if this was what He wanted. Oh man, if you only knew the emotional roller coaster I went through! Maybe some of you do.

Then it was last Wednesday and I was at church working on the Beth Moore study on Esther that I've been doing. I'll be honest, I was two weeks behind but God was totally in that because that Wednesday I caught up on those two weeks. It just so happens that the two weeks topic's were: destiny and fear. How ironic? It was through that homework and the videos that went through it, that God spoke very very clearly. Since I've been unemployed, I've prayed that God would open and close doors. And that's exactly what He did. In fact, He flung a huge door open! I was scared to walk through it, but then I heard Beth Moore say in her video: "You may be one brave decision away from breaking free from an old story line and beginning a brand new chapter in your life." Honestly, it felt like those two lessons were written for me, for that exact moment. It was then that I knew I needed to walk through the door that led to Quincy.

Oh man, I am going to miss my friends and family. Actually, I'll only be gone about a year and a half because I'll be coming back for training in 2012 to be a pastor through The Salvation Army in Chicago. I'll also be back many times to visit for weddings, to see the Neth's baby who will be born in August, for Christmas....it's not for forever. I know that God is going to grow me and transform me while in Quincy. I will come back changed.

So this week, my plan is to do some research on Quincy and Boston since it's so close. I want to try and be as familiar with the place as I can without actually being there. I'd like to find a place to workout, the library, stores, the movie theater, etc. I need to start packing also! I'll be headed out around the 21st of March, so it's coming soon. I'll post my findings and if you happen to be familiar with Boston or the surrounding areas, tell me what your favorite place is, must-sees, etc.