Plopped In Your Lap

Only in Japan could one create the "Lap Pillow" which apparently only comes in red or black short-skirted female laps. However, this post has nothing to do with this odd sleep aide. I merely found it...wait for it...a knee slapper! Oy.

No, today I'd like to focus on how blessings seem to always "plop in your lap." Have you noticed this? There's no such thing as microwaveable blessings. They seem to come out of no where and require only our faithful prayer, obedience, and patience.

For example, my new job at AOL. For over two years, I searched for a new job using email search agents and submitting my resume online. At best, a few nibbles and an occasional phone or in-person interview came about...but none led to anything serious.

Next came emails and calls from technical recruiters from all across the DC Metro area. I highly recommend recruiters but you MUST know: they get paid by the companies with the jobs you seek. So, they're working for companies, they are not working for you. Bringing to the company the best possible candidate is their objective. Going in knowing that will make life easier.

I chatted with several recruiters on the phone who wanted to categorize me and see with which positions my skills could best align. I spoke with three different recruiters on the phone and visited their offices. These were six interviews...but not with a company doing the hiring...with recruiters. Which would mean I'd still have to interview with a company they were recommending. Nothing panned out of these experiences. I was increasingly becoming discouraged.

Discouragement is usually the product of trying to do too much on your own. While I was praying and awaiting Christ's signal...I was still powering my own efforts. The Holy Spirit told me "no more" and I declined any further visits to recruiter offices that required spending my time and gas unless there was a genuine peace about doing it.

Within a couple weeks of this decision, a different recruiter emailed me out of the blue about a position at AOL. We communicated only over email (convenient since she is in Florida but different since no other recruiter operated this efficiently) and spoke on the phone only a couple times (another great difference). Other recruiters required a phone call and usually a visit to their office before my resume would be forwarded to the hiring company.

I mentioned to Christine, the recruiter, that working for AOL would be awesome but the commute would be rather painful. After a flexible commute schedule was agreed upon by AOL and the phone interview with the hiring manager went absolutely splendid, I was pretty certain this would be my next job.

However, the AOL job was not captured by any of my screens or methods. If Christine hadn't contacted me, this blessing wouldn't have come my way. I've also learned how things behind the scenes at AOL aligned to fulfill the blessing. Even better was learning my arrival was an answer to prayer.

Which is another characteristic of great blessings: they tend to be answers to prayers for both sides.

So, if anyone needs to help job hunting, lettme know and I'll send you Christine's way. If you're looking for a blessing, don't. Instead, pray and wait on the Lord. He'll always deliver in His timing.