An additional puzzle piece

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I was pondering our puzzle pieces. Basically God was giving us some information to ‘sit on’. His plans get revealed to us before hand but it is only when circumstances follow that the plan actually looks feasible! One of puzzle pieces had to do with John’s job. While his job is a tremendous blessing, one thing about being a corrections officer, the hours are harder on the body as you get older. Don’t get me wrong, 12 hour shifts have their advantages and can be an amazing blessing. Only working 15 days a month is very neat, however if on the other 15 that you do work, you are present only in body, but the brain should be categorized as the ‘walking dead’, this is not so great. Also when the off days are spent recovering from the working days, many times this results in permanently working with an intellect that is a few fries short of a happy meal!
A little history for you….. When my hubby and I married in 1998 he was already a corrections officer. He had a ‘specialty position’ though, working with inmates on the road crew. The reason why it is such a great position for most, is that it has normal hours of operation. Back then, he worked Tuesday through Saturday 7am-3pm. Being that I was raised by a police officer who was on rotating shiftwork, this schedule was a piece of cake! These hours meant that he still had a little energy left when he got home for us AND enough ‘spring in his step’ to maybe attend an evening service at church or go to a friends house for dinner. In all his years as a corrections officer THESE were probably the most care-free and fun for him. You see, my hubby has the gift of evangelism and when he worked this type of job, he had so many opportunities to witness to people. It wasn’t like he had a ‘captive audience’ either. He never abused his position as an officer to shove the gospel down someone’s throat. He would merely have his bible in his work van, read it during lunch breaks and just live out his relationship with Jesus in front of the people on his crew. Inmates are pretty much used to being treated with disrespect and when you do not fill this role with them, it makes a big difference. Many of them would strike up conversations about the bible. After a short while of conversation, the barriers that were standing in between them and the Lord was eradicated. Being that many of them are invariably at a pretty low point in their life, they are already ‘seeking’ something that makes a lasting change or difference in their life. Talk about my hubby being in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, after a couple years of being a work crew officer, my hubby tested for a supervisor’s position. He always regretted making this move as it felt like ‘trading in’ his most effective ministry for career advancement. Although, God still used him in his new positions, it never felt as right as when he was really being used with his work crew. As a supervisor, he was grateful for the fact of KNOWING from experience, that career advancement isn’t all it is cracked up to be. With more responsibility, comes greater headaches that are not worth the pay increase! He never imagined that he would ever be presented with the opportunity to do this former job again until just recently.
A month ago, there were two work crew positions that came available in the department here. They seemed to take forever to post them all the while John was just chomping at the bit to apply! He figured that maybe they would have to cut the program, since budgets around here are very tight! What is very neat about the timing of the posting is that it was a month after John’s one year anniversary and annual evaluation. One of the requirements for being considered for the position was that you had to be there over a year. God is so good and His timing is always so perfect!
He put in a letter of interest for the position as soon as it was posted. There were many rumors flying around that they already had in mind who they wanted for the positions. While there were quite a few applicants, there were less than a dozen interviews. Everyone who was interviewed was sent an e-mail of when they needed to show up for their oral board interview. A few minutes after receiving the e-mail, John got a radio call from the Captain asking if he got the e-mail and was planning to make the interview. John felt his heart jump a bit but didn’t want to read too much into it. No one else on his crew received the same radio call to confirm.
The interviews were today. He called me RIGHT after his interview and said that he didn’t think he did well! He was pretty bummed thinking he must not have made it. An hour later he called me again stating that the Captain called him and offered him the job. So beginning on October 5th John will be running a work crew and working 4 ten hour shifts. Having a set schedule opens up many opportunities for ministry not only at work but for home fellowship too! This is just one more piece of the puzzle that has been revealed to us and we want to share with you all! More to come as God begins to reveal more of His plan for us here!