Count my blessings

I am truly blessed. Life has never been easy for me from many perspectives; yet the Lord has blessed me and kept me. If it wasn’t for HIS grace and love for me, I must have ended up in a slump somewhere far away in China, if I survived. But today I am here to count my blessings. I want to write this down so that when it comes the day when I am despaired and lost, I can look back on this and remind myself how blessed I am and how faithful the LORD has been to me.
I remember being a fresh grad from University after doing my Masters in Applied Science; I had a hard time finding my first job. I sent out dozens of resumes and waited weeks. Pressure from home and from myself, each waiting day was dreadful. I remember praying, “Whatever you think will be best for me, give me that. Not what I want because it may not be the best”. So I got a few interviews and the only one that made me an offer was Earth Tech (at that time). Although the company was only a few blocks away from where I lived, I never heard of the company and was certainly not impressed with the salary they offered me. I took the job anyway, not like I had a choice. There in my first job, I met the most amazing supervisors and managers. Many of them have left the company now; yet we keep in touch and remain friends. These great teachers taught me many things without reserve; most precious of them all was humility. I learned that it doesn’t matter how much you know and how good you are at your job, you don’t earn respect until you learn humility. Unfortunately, these great people I worked with moved on one by one. I was progressing amazingly fast on my career path with many opportunities. At the same time, stress and the amount of work was competing with my time and energy for my family. Obviously my family is more important to me than my career, so I knew it was time to move on. This time, I pray again. Learned from my experience, I know the LORD knows what’s best for me. Who’s better to prepare a new job for me than HIM? This time, my little girl prayed me with too. We prayed that “God will give mommy a job that is suitable for her and for the family. A job that will allow mommy to spend more time with her little princess Emma” (of course secretly I wished for a job that will have less stress, less responsibilities, yet same or more pay… wishful thinking uh?)
I am glad Emma prayed with me because she witnesses what our God really do for us. And of course HE knows what I secretly wish for even when I didn’t “ask out loud”.
There were many other consultant firms wanting to arrange an interview with me, some even hinted an offer before I met with them. However, I was hesitant because I know what it’s like to work in consultant firms and they somewhat operate the same way no matter where you go. I did apply for a job position at the York Region, but the position I applied for seemed like a big step back for me and the salary range was not attractive at all. On top of that, I’d have to travel all the way to Newmarket everyday. So I didn’t pay too much attention to the application, thinking “I’ll see what happens.” York Region called me back for an interview and I thought “it wouldn’t hurt to get some interview experience”. It was very intense interview. One hour oral interview with two managers and another hour of written exam right after. After the interview, I found that what they are looking for is really what I do best in and that they have really high standards in hiring the right people. To make a long story short, I landed in this job with York Region that allow me to work 2.5 hrs less per week so I can go home earlier to be with my kids, have great benefits and pension plan, pays more than my previous job, have close to no stress and have somewhat less responsibilities.
I feel spoilt and grateful at the same time. I know I complaint a lot about life and how unfair it has been. However, at this point, I know everything has its purpose. I am grateful and thankful not only for the good things that have happened, I am also thankful for the bad things that happened. (note: I am not saying it’s good those things happened) However dreadful and unbearable those times were, they made me the person I am today. Without those experiences, I wouldn’t be thankful today for what I have. I wouldn’t realize how blessed I am, I would have taken things for granted. I personally think that a person needs to be able to give thanks and be grateful in order to be happy.

On top of my smooth career path, I want to give thanks for these two amazing kids I have. Emma, loving and caring. Always listens and obedient, observant and brilliant. Jack, smart and cheerful. You can always count on him to put a smile on your face. When I look at them, I keep thinking to myself “God, your blessings are so good and amazing” What more? My husband, Derek. To many, he is unromantic, and somewhat insensitive. To me, he is the best that God has given me. God has chosen this man for me because HE knows Derek is most suitable for me. Derek is really more amazing than others can see. Most important of all is that he loves me. Many times we face difficulties in our marriage, we pulled it through because we love each other. Things were not resolved based on reasons and logic, which I don’t think will last. Things were “resolved” (or not resolved but settled) because we love each other too much to hold it up against the other person. In closing, I want to quote these verses from the bible to remind myself to look beyond adversities when they do come my way:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28