March 6 Farewell Pasadena

We came, we saw, we met, we negotiated, we conquered! Jim has a job! Yay! And this has been another of God’s many provisions throughout this insanity. I’ll try to recap as best I can. Since getting kicked out of EQ, waiting on Marathon to make a decision, and realizing our lives with that company were short-lived, Jim as been applying for any and every job possible to have income. Now as we recognize, this is NOT the time to be searching for jobs with a current 8.1% unemployment in the US (thanks to Obama)!

Anyway, no door has opened. Only one crack, and that’s in the Middle East and isn’t even on the board until July or August. We can live with mother’s, mothers-in-law, and children; however, we haven’t relished the status as “boomerang parents” as I’m sure our kids haven’t relished that idea either!

Jim belongs to ASIS which is a profexxional security organization. He has used this network to get nearly every security job he has had since leaving the USMC. He applied with Intercon over this net, and also because it was the first company he had worked for when he got out of the Marines. They sent us to both Tunisia and Portugal.

This company is the only one that has showed any interest. Jim and I have been praying and trusting God for direction, but after this entire fiasco with Marathon and EQ, we have felt that the windows of heaven were shut. God was NOT answering our prayers. A wise man I once knew, Ed Wheeler, said that God answers prayers with either Yes, No, or Wait. We’ve been in the No and Wait potion of His will. No, we are NOT going back to EQ; we are NOT working for Marathon. Wait on the right answer. One thing I have learned is that if you are in God’s will, when He moves, it’s fast, all details are arranged, there is calm, peace, and order, and you feel as if you are riding the crest of the wave and not fighting to get air while drowning. That’s the best I can describe being in the middle of God’s will for Jim and me.

So, we came down to Pasadena for a job interview that neither of us were that excited about, but it was the only thing available. I did fight it, and at one point had begged Jim to forget it, I didn’t have any desire to return anywhere on the African continent as it has treated us so miserably! Jim was wiling to let it go; however, I saw the look in his eyes and knew that if he didn’t at least take the opportunity, he would always wonder. Also, if he stayed unemployed for an long period, it might break his wonderfully strong spirit. He gains strength from his role as provider, and I knew I must not take that from him. That’s when my heart was broken and torn, but that is also when I surrendered this entire mess to God to make some kind of sense out of this pickle we were in through no fault of our own.

Jim interviewed, and as I told you in previous blogs, all the pieces seemed to fit. Finally, the wisdom God gave me as I waited was for Jim to use his logic in making his decision. I do know that God has given Jim an extra dose of logic and intelligence and a sixth sense about so many things; I respect that, because it covers me and protects me against my sometimes foolish impulses. I also have that sixth sense in areas that he doesn’t; and when he chooses to listen to me on that level, I’m usually spot on. We make a great team in many ways, and our gifts seem to truly complement each other, especially during this trying time.

As Jim laid out everything logically, I felt a strong peace deep down in my soul. On the outside, it’s insanity to return to the “scene of the crime,” Conakry, Guinea, which caused me great heartache, stress, and nearly my life. (For those of you who don’t understand this, I got a very serious infection in Conakry and nearly died-again saying that was one place I would never return-boy does God have a sense of humor)! Jim will be working for a company that is rival to his old company; he will be working with a den of thieves and all sorts of neer do wells. The pressure will be unbelievable. On the spiritual side, God has given him grace with the top brass at Intercon. Why even last night, they put together their final bid for a huge project in Conakry; Jim worked till 200 am with his bosses. And the funny thing about that incident, is that for all of these people’s expertise, Jim was the only one that had “boots on the ground” in Conakry, knew the territory, and could pretty much write the proposal based on his experience. Now is that a God thing or what? When he was sharing this with me, it was just too eerie, and obvious that God wants us back in Conakry, and I am going to trust that no matter what the circumstances, He will guide us, protect us, watch over us, and get us to where He is going to use us for His kingdom.

Sometimes, life makes no sense in the flesh, and I am in the school of learning that no matter what control I think I have, God has a master plan that might not include what I want to happen. What do I know: I am Jim’s wife; Jim values his role as provider; I must allow him to do that even though it is taking us into some strange places that I prefer not to be; that as I allow Jim to follow his God given instincts, he grows stronger and more secure in his abilities and I learn to trust him even more as my husband.

The journey is not over; we have only begun to go in another direction, and finally after six weeks, I am resting in God’s provisions for us.

So, today, we are off to pick up our car in Fairfield, spend the night and head up toward WA to get our HHG .