While looking at my past journals, I realised that in Aug & Sep last year, I had a similar experience like what the Israelites faced when God was about to bring them out of slavery in Egypt. I don't mean to say that I was in slavery back then in my ex-company but I certainly was not very happy staying there. Because I knew long ago that my stay in that company was only temporary, yet I did not know when the Lord was bringing me out. It turned out that this transcient place lasted 3 years.
Through those 3 years of waiting, I kept believing that God was working out a plan to prepare me to stay home to look after my children in the next season of my life. Afterall, that desire came from Him, before I even had any children. At one point juggling work and taking care of Joshua started to get very challenging. It was not that I had to work very late but that my job 'sucked out' a lot of my emotional attention, causing me to be drained. I was still thinking about work at home while taking care of Joshua. I felt I was shortchanging my son as I could not give all my attention to him. I was missing out on those crucial years as he was growing up fast.
I was getting increasingly restless as I waited because I believed in July 2010, God was telling me to get ready to move on now. Yet there was still no sign of my impending pregnancy as I always thought I would stay till I give birth, enjoy the maternity benefits and then leave. I felt like I was closing the door behind me (by telling my bosses I would certainly leave) but I could not nail down the date to resign. The situation of the Israelites being stuck between the Red Sea and the marauding armies of Eygpt came to my mind. I was sure the Lord would 'open' the door for me to leave like how He opened the Red Sea but I still did not know how and when.
There was a turning point in Sep last year when God led us to buy our 2nd property. I really thank God for the good timing because by now, the 'cooling' measures by the government coupled with the rise in private property prices made it difficult for public housing residents to upgrade to their dream homes (condo). Some HDB residents felt that they had not acted fast enough to upgrade their homes when the price difference between public and private housing was closing up. When I read about this in the newspapers, I really thank God for prospering us because we were able to not just upgrade to a private property of a similar size, we could keep and rent out our HDB flat!
Then in early Oct, the Lord finally gave me the green light to tender, which was clear that my season in the company has ended and I needed to move on. I was surprised to find that I was emotional and sentimental about leaving though this had been my desire for the past 3 years! How contradictory can humans get! No wonder once God gave the mandate, He showed me that there was a sense of urgency to move on.
Like the Israelites, once Pharaoh allowed them to leave, they knew they had to leave quickly in case Pharaoh changed his mind. When they took the Passover meal, they were all dressed to go. Hence that was why I had to leave before waiting for my performance bonus in Apr. There might be consequences or further delays if I did not act promptly to God's direction. I thought to myself: I had already waited for so long and now my chance to move on to the next season has come, why would I want to delay?
Now as I look back, I am really thankful that I have moved solidly into my new season and what awaits me is a harvest of lustrous fruits! Thank God for exciting times are coming my way!
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