Prayers answered: I found a job!

Hallelujah! Yes, it's true. I will be entering the workforce very soon! Hello steady income! Hello benefits!

I will be an online news editor for a growing community news organization. What's even better is that it's a job I truly wanted. It's a job that utilizes my journalism education and experience. And yes, that master's degree in communications actually came in handy!

I had been unemployed for several months...10 months actually, with a few freelance and temporary gigs in between. The truth is, being unemployed can take a huge beating on your ego. When you explain to people that you're "looking for a job," you try not to notice their judgemental glances, they're "so-sorry-for-you" looks. Do they think less of you, is that a smirk? Are they smug because they have a job, a great salary and you? You're just doing nothing.

I hated feeling like a slacker, wallowing in the stagnant state of my professional career. People who really know me, know that I am ambitious. I'm an expert at mapping out goals and making lists. Suffering through 10 months of unemployment was never on any of those lists.

Then the desperation kicks in, you start applying for almost any job that you're qualified for...maybe even some that you're not so qualified to take, but heck...it's a job.

But looking back, I know that my situation wasn't ever too desperate. We were fortunate to have family who helped support us when we had zero income. We were fortunate to receive a sizable amount of monetary gifts from our wedding. I know that many people don't have that kind of support. I prayed often and for some reason, I had a sense of confidence that things would always work out, even if the outset was getting pretty bleak. I'm a firm believer in putting your most difficult trials in the hands of a higher power, in God, and He would help guide you in the right direction.  Had I felt pressured to take any job that was offered to me earlier in my job search, I may have never found the job I was so fortunate to find now.

So now I look forward to starting off where I left off, working my way up in the communications field. I'm grateful for this opportunity and I'm going to make the best of this. So, yes, there is hope. Have faith, keep the positivity, hold on to patience, look to your support network (Friends? Family?), search for and maximize the resources around you, and things will work out as they should.

Amen.