God is good

It's 2025. I can't believe it. I'm 36 years old, all too rapidly approaching 40, and there are so many aspects of my character and life that are less mature than they should be at this point. I have to hold on to the promise that "He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ."

As mentioned, I started applying for a new job in the new year. In particular, after looking around, I decided that I was only interested in working at ABB, and I felt that with my connection there, I should be able to get my foot in the door without great difficulty. Well, after 3 weeks I was rejected from the job I had applied for. Internal investigation revealed that I had applied for a position that was already filled, and thus had to reapply for a different position. (Even though it was technically the same position, the number which identified the position in the system was different). After doing that, the job offer came within 10 days, and I gave notice of my resignation at my current job shortly thereafter.

The new job offered several perks that excited me. It involved wiring, which I enjoy--following diagrams to wire equipment was one of my favorite things about electrical work, and that was the bulk of what I would be doing as I understood it. Of course it was a manufacturing job, which means to me consistency in hours, location, and expectations. I was looking forward to being able to move to Mebane as well as knowing my exact route to work every day. Also, it was a second-shift job. That meant less traffic on my commute, the ability to go to school in the mornings, and less crowded outings on mornings when I did not have school. On the other hand, I was a bit intimidated by the promise of overtime. As much as I enjoy wiring, I know that it can be tough on hand muscles and frustrating in conjunction with considerable fatigue. The possibility of doing it ten hours a day for multiple days in a row certainly inspired some trepidation.

Nevertheless, I was excited to begin this job on Monday, until I received a call about 5 PM yesterday (the Friday before). I was offered a position at Toyota, nine and a half months after my application, and after hearing nothing from them for about six months. In my surprise I nearly had second thoughts, but I did end up accepting the offer.

The delay in this offer caused me considerable frustration and uncertainty in the last eight months. There is an obvious practical reason that Toyota waited this long--they needed to get the first production line up and running, and I didn't have the experience to be on the first line. Why couldn't they have told me that I might have to wait until January or February? I'm not sure, but I believe that God used it for my good. I don't believe in pigeonholing His reasons with my narrow understanding, but here are some thoughts I had for why it might be for my good:

• I used some of the time to take classes at ACC, which was a tremendously edifying experience, one that I believe will serve me to great advantage in this position.
• I was able to work at Brady, which I regard as a great company. Despite all the company's good qualities, though, I became convinced that field work was not amenable to my disposition, leading me to renounce my ambition for an electrical license. I may not have been convinced of this by working at a different company.
• Perhaps God was able to use me at Brady in some way for encouragement of others. I feel that this might have happened.
• If I had known that I only needed short-term work, I probably would have worked in general contracting. While I might have learned more, I would have been paid less and, as implied above, held on to a dream of getting an electrical license and always wondered what working for a proper company would be like.
  
  

In other news, I have been attending church regularly since the beginning of the year, and from tomorrow I plan to start going to the evening service as well as Sunday School, which I have attended for a few weeks. I had fully intended to join this church, but now I'm a little hesitant given that I won't be living in Mebane anymore. I think I should probably go ahead with it though. There is plenty of possibility that I will move to a place within a reasonable distance from Mebane.

Some updates on my gaming: from mid-September until the new year, my free time was principally consumed by Factorio. I started three different games, and though I never beat the game, I got close twice. After the first and second games, I found ways to optimize my building. By the end of the third game, I was just tired of Factorio. I may return to it someday and beat it, but honestly I hope not. In other video game news, the book club finally beat Baldur's Gate near the end of January. We started playing an action RPG, which is less serious and easier to break off from early in the evening.

Since leaving the obsession of Factorio, I've been reading more. A good bit of webfiction, but also more edifying texts, including Jonathan Edwards, Amusing Ourselves to Death, and as of yesterday, Brave New World. I've also done better with my scripture memory, and I think I might be ready to begin learning new verses again this coming week. If I manage that, I will speak more about my new methods in the next post.

Speaking of next post, I will have 3 weeks before I begin the new job. I have volunteered to sub at school, which I'm excited about, but I doubt they will need me every one of those days. Hence, I should have no excuse not to write something by the time I start the new job. Or perhaps I will start one and finish it soon after beginning the new job. That does sound risky, but we will see.