New Jersey or Bust?

Who would have ever guessed it would be this hard and take this long to find a job. Whatever the case, it took us 10 months for something to finally pan out (and believe me, it wasn't for lack of trying!) Last week Chris was offered a position through a Contractor as an Analyst at an Operations Center on an Army post in New Jersey. We are excited about this opportunity but there is a bit of uncertainty in terms of job security that comes along with this job. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining (because Praise the Lord it's a job!!!) But let me explain in a bit more detail:

Like I said earlier, the job is through a contractor that works on an Army post. Unfortunately, this Army post is closing in the next few months and the jobs are dissolving or moving elsewhere. (Gulp!!) All we know as of now is that the job Chris currently has though this contracting agency will be dissolving in about 3 months or so. (Double Gulp!!) This particular job will reopen as a government job at a different Army post, but there is no guarantee that Chris will be offered the job once it reopens and moves (though we are certainly praying that it will be offered to him!) So, we find ourselves in yet another very temporary job/living situation.

It's already been a journey trying to find a place to live. The cost of living and housing in the area is more than I had anticipated (I had sticker shock when I saw the prices of apartments!) But we have stepped out on faith and signed a 4 month apartment lease. The town is a bit iffy and the apartment is small, but livable. However, I am THANKFUL that we found this apartment because it allowed us to lease short-term and it's close to Chris's job. The benefits far outweighed its size and location when we made our final decision. We have decided to take only what we need for the next few months - basic furniture, kitchen items, clothes and of course -toys for the boys - and leave the rest in our storage unit here. We move next week! I have been going store-to-store to find boxes, organizing, sorting, packing, making lists, packing, cleaning, packing, packing and packing.

Chris left last week and has already been hard at work. The job requires shift work, so it'll be long hours for him. Since Chris already has plenty of experience working in an Operations Center (which is what he did while deployed) the job and its duties are nothing new. Right now he's staying with a friend until our apartment opens up. The boys and I drove up to NJ yesterday to get the lease and check out the apartment and now we're back in MD to finish things on this end.

Though this whole situation is VERY overwhelming and even a bit scary, I have faith that God has a plan for us. He has never EVER failed us and I know that even though this is a very uncertain circumstance, HE IS FAITHFUL.

I have decided not to dwell on the fear part (i.e. what happens when the Post closes and the job ends?!) and instead to look at the next few months as a journey and adventure. I leave the uncertainty in God's hands knowing He will take care of us.

So, here we go - on our next adventure!

Stay tuned and I will share this adventure with you via this blog!