Jenn gets a new job

Ever since January 2015, when things were really getting difficult for Jared up in Madisonville and sinking quickly, I felt a prompting to try and find a job to help us breathe a little easier and because we knew that sooner, rather than later, adding Jake to our auto insurance policy would be all but "catastrophic" to our already strapped finances.

At the beginning of February, I happened to see a friend from my ward post online that she needed a filer at her Allstate office for an hour or two each week. I can certainly file and with JJ in speech for a couple hours in the afternoon twice a week, I could find an hour to do that. I inquired with my friend telling her I was interested and shared some of my previous, recent experience. She told me I was extremely over-qualified, but definitely hired!

The time I spent there and the rate at which I was paid, were both very minimal ($8/hr). In fact, I have to chuckle that Jake makes $10 each week, spending 15 minutes or less picking up dog poop for a neighbor. I need HIS job! I didn't take the filing job for the money, but to start networking and to get my name out in this new community that doesn't know me yet. I later learned that the Allstate agent/owner is a high councilman in our stake! I guess that's a pretty good start! I refused to be paid until I filled up the entire length of the time sheet with entries because it wouldn't have been worth the cost of the paper the check was made from until then. After six months, I got my first check. It helped pay for some of the the kids' school supplies, for which I was very grateful. But if I was going to really help contribute to our family finances, I would need another job.

Over the next few months, work-life for Jared got better after he cut ties with Madisonville and transitioned to Brenham. I quietly spoke with a few of the women in my ward (visiting teachers, RS president and a couple friends) to let them know I was looking for work, but there were conditions. It had to be on Jared's days off (T/Th) so he could watch JJ and it needed to be flexible because if Jared could pick up an extra shift on one of those days, he was going to work because he could make six to eight times more an hour than me. I knew that a job like that would have to fall into my lap like they have in the past. I wasn't holding my breath, but if I didn't let some friends know I was looking, they couldn't keep me in mind if they came across a possibility.

That summer, I learned that another friend of mine (who helps do the accounting books for a local, privately owned ER for another ward member) was moving. She said her job is really flexible and the woman she works with (the mom of the head ER doc) is also in our ward. My friend said she couldn't guarantee they'd hire me, but would totally recommend me to take her place. She said it's about 10 hours a week and an extra $550 a month. That would be perfect! I was so hopeful!

Two weeks later, though, Jared found out his schedule would be changing. So instead of having every T/TH and every other Fri-Su off, he'd work an A/B schedule. A week: M/T off, W/TH on, Fri, Sa, Su off. B week: M/T on, W/TH off, Fri, Sa, Su on. And repeat. This would actually be better for Jared in many ways. The Brenham clinic was the only clinic in the St. Joseph system not on this schedule. So it would increase his chances of picking up extra shifts if his days off were the direct opposite of other providers who needed coverage. Additionally, when he worked a long weekend on the old schedule, that always gave him FOUR days in a row with Monday attached. But the new schedule guarantees he'll only have THREE days in a row, unless he chooses to pick up an extra shift.

I was happy for him (and us) for both those reasons. And they ultimately trumped my bummer reasons. #1) I like consistency and predictability. I liked knowing Jared was off every T/TH and planning my life around that. Now his days off vary from week to week. Not a fun adjustment. At the same time, it would be nice to have him home on some Mondays and some Wednesdays where he never was before. #2) So much for getting an opportunity to at least interview for my friend's job with a schedule like that.

As it turned out, my friend's husband's job fell through and they didn't move afterall...and she needed to keep her job. I was actually sad for my friend's circumstances and didn't even worry about the lost possible job opportunity. Somehow, I knew it would work out.

In August, Jared had his annual review. His supervisor, Kim, gushed over him and just kept asking what they could do to make sure he doesn't go anywhere. She's been so supportive of him and I'm so grateful that, even within a large hospital system like this, Jared hasn't fallen through the cracks. We wondered if he might get a small raise--like a cost of living increase, if nothing else, after he had fulfilled his first year of employment. In the past, Jared got a raise (and sometimes very generous raises) every year in Oregon. We were so spoiled by Dr. Hicken. In the end, though, we weren't holding our breath that Jared would get any financial increase after this first year. Nor did Jared hear of any such thing from other employees. So we continued to plug along doing the best we could, keeping the commandments, honoring our covenants and trusting that the leap of faith we took the year previous was indeed the best for our family, regardless of our financial situation. Even though there were many times that we felt (and were convinced) we didn't have enough, we have always had what we needed. We learned a long time ago when we lived in Michigan and Oregon while Jared was working towards his master's degrees with no income to speak of, that you can't budget the blessings of tithing--even when you mathematically take what you have and subtract what you need to keep your head above water, only to discover you run out of money before the next check or installment comes. But that's where God steps in and works His miracles. A couple months ago, our family had been reading in Ether 12 in the Book of Mormon. We taught the children that miracles do not develop faith. They are a product of your faith. Verse 18 says: "And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God."

If you are doing what you should be doing (and are a faithful steward over what money you do have and express gratitude for it), the Lord will bless you in ways you could never imagine. The groceries you purchased for the week somehow stretch into meals for the next week. Your car tires last longer than they should have. A refund check from a marketing promo from the year prior shows up in your mailbox out of the blue. Your friend has clothes her children can't wear and wonders if you would like them--and they fit. Anonymous friends shower your family with expensive specialty food, repeatedly, because of your daughter's newly diagnosed food allergy. Your phone company doubles your data plan on the very day you are shopping around for other cellular options. You have a copay credit at the doctor's office. Several things you normally buy at the store happen to be on sale. You need $2600 worth of car maintenance the same week your tax return shows up which will cover the entire cost of the repairs. Your daughter can wear the shin guards and soccer cleats you've been storing in the attic for the last seven years. You receive many hundreds of dollars in a refund from your mortgage company because you had too much money in your escrow account. When you balance your checkbook, you discover you've deducted a couple bills twice so you can add that money back into your register. Every single one of these financial miracles have happened to us this past year, many in just the past few months.

In September, I had another friend share with me that she was cleaning an orthodontist's office three or four nights a week. She is currently pregnant and didn't want to continue to do it after the baby arrives in the spring. She said if I was interested she would pass my name along. I was VERY interested. Especially since it wouldn't require me to be away from home during the day. If it worked out, the job would start a few months after insurance went up, but it would be close enough! Beggars can't be choosers! I was so grateful for another lead. I did have a few friends try and encourage me to get into substitute teaching, but I'm pretty sure that's not something I would be good at. At all. It's one thing to have your own classroom and procedures and structure--which comes with its own set of challenges. It is quite another to walk in blind and try to teach kids you've never met and follow sub plans that could be vague at best. Furthermore, I'm not familiar with any of the schools or teachers or administrators. That alone is overwhelming. I'm not convinced the stress of that line of work would be worth the very little that it pays.

It was the middle of October when Jared got a call from the supervisor of rural clinics. He told Jared there had been a "market adjustment" (whatever that means) which would directly increase Jared's annual salary by $3,000. We couldn't believe it! That comes to about $115 extra per paycheck before taxes and would obviously help a LOT toward the difference with the car insurance cost increase. Two weeks after that, Jared didn't get a call, but I noticed on his paycheck that his hourly rate of pay had increased--again. My heart sank. I really liked seeing that take home pay, but it wasn't accurate. I just knew payroll had messed up his hours and overpaid him. And I was really hoping I wouldn't have to pay them back for their mistake or that it would be deducted from our next paycheck. After Jared contacted his supervisor about the mix-up in his rate of pay, we learned it wasn't a mistake after all. Major miracle #2) Jared was receiving an additional $2,000 for his "merit" (a raise for his great work). These two raises combined would, even after taxes, be exactly what we needed to pay for insurance with a teenage driver--and just a smidge more! Such an incredible stream of blessings!

While I intend to find a job once JJ gets into school full-time to help contribute to mission funds and retirement, it was no longer needful for me to seek employment currently. I find it no coincidence at all that just a few weeks after Jared received his second raise, I received my call to serve as the ward Relief Society President. As it turns out, I work for God now :)

There are certainly women in our church who are Relief Society presidents who also work full-time. There's no rule saying you can't do both. Some have to work. But I'm confident that because I'm Heavenly Father's daughter, He knows that as organized as I am, working a new job and serving as Relief Society president and being wife and mommy would be really difficult for me to juggle, personally. All of the experiences related to my efforts to secure employment during the year 2015 are a huge testimony to me (again) that God's hand is in our lives and that He will open the door for us to serve His children--in the most miraculous ways!