So, on Friday morning I made a life altering committment… unemployment.

Hopefully, it’s not as horrible as it sounds, but it could be. I was offered a contract to return to Grace College as a resident director for a 5th year, and I turned it down. The search for my replacement will begin in a few days. It was the right thing to do - with our family now four strong and the toil of living in dorm finally starting to wear us down - we need to move out while we are still happy and effective. But the growing family that causes me to make this decision is the very thing that makes this a difficult decision. It’s one thing to be homeless and jobless and single or even married, but kids up the ante. I feel pressure to “be a man” and provide for my family more than ever.

So, “What’s the plan?” Good question. This weekend I dusted off the resume and started hitting the job postings. I’m praying and dreaming at breakneck pace. I don’t mind making my desires public - I’d love to stay at Grace. I love this place. I fit here. I don’t feel “released” like I did when I resigned from Covenant Baptist Church four years ago. I believe God can still use me here, and I hope he will. However, I do feel it is wise to explore other options. I realize I am limited in my perspective on the situation. We came back to Grace because we were wounded after four years of difficult ministry in Michigan. Perhaps our healing is complete and God is sending us from Grace College for a second time. “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?”

If you would, please join us in praying - I strongly desire to find my fit within a team, using my gifts, strengths, experiences, and abilities to make a difference in the world. At the same time, I want to be free to use my gifts, strengths, experiences, and abilities to make a difference in my family. Ultimately, that’s why we are resigning from the Resident Director gig. I love it, but I love my family more.

Metanoia,

Aaron

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 9:06 am and is filed under Old Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.