Plans change

This past Sunday we had a really great sermon at church that pertained to God having a bigger plan for each one of us. Our pastor always does a nice job of integrating the sermon into everyday life, as opposed to the old traditional "preaching" some of us remember in church. There wasn't one person that left the auditorium who couldn't relate to that sermon: you have this grand scheme in your mind of how your life is going to go, and within seconds it is changed drastically.

Alex proved to be what I hope is just one of many of my "changed plans". Rewind to 4 years ago: I had been offered a 911 dispatcher position within a nearby county, I had passed the exam with flying colors, went through psychological testing, and an extensive background check. I was ecstatic when I found out that my underage drinking ticket wouldn't haunt me for life. This was the job of a lifetime, or so it seemed-a new challenge, in something that really interested me, great benefits, early retirement, and more money. I put in my notice to my boss, and came home and celebrated over my new job. That is until a few days later when something didn't seem just right for me-a pregnancy test revealed what I felt was one of my biggest fears, and I cried. My mom and co-worker convinced me that "you should be happy-not crying". It wasn't so much the thought of having a child that upset me, as it was the timing. I felt safe at RC it was a job more conducive to raising a family instead of a 3rd shift dispatcher position. It was at that point that I took my pregnancy as a sign that I needed to stay where I was at. So I did the unthinkable: I called my boss at home, explained the situation, and he happily accepted me back. Fast forward to today: another beautiful child, 2 promotions, and 4 classes away from graduating-I'm pretty sure I'm living proof that somebody else has bigger plans.

It seemed like that sermon couldn't have come at a better time for me; I've been struggling with personal decisions regarding my career, spending more time with my children, and taking some time to work on myself. With my classes wrapping up, I only have 4 more til graduation-spread out over the course of the next year (my last class is only offered in the Fall, and my course load was heavy enough this year) things will seem lax compared to the past 3 years. This past week something sparked me to begin training for a 1/2 marathon, with less time devoted to school I should have the time necessary to train and compete in the Green Bay 1/2 marathon. It's been over 5 years since my last 1/2, so I'm ready to get back into some routine and utilize this time as "working on myself". So I'm tackling 1/3 of my plan; I'll leave the rest in someone else's hands.