The wait is over. Hired.

After a phone screening, a group interview, and 2 in-person interviews, the news is official. I have been hired as a union benefits representative. It's similar to working insurance, except I don't have to make cold calls and I work with unionized employees and not the general public.

I could go farther into the details of the position, but what's the point? Here's what I will say. I have been out of a full time job for eight months. I have had some very good times during those eight months and I have had some incredibly dark moments. Perhaps the lowest was the Monday before Thanksgiving when I realized I would not get any unemployment beyond six months. Aside from my weekly minimum wage job at Andy Frain, I had no more funds coming in. And that job was nowhere enough to pay my monthly bills; it was barely enough to put gas in the car.

I had applied for over 350 jobs and never had so much as a job offer. I was in school, earning all A's, and I had been promised I would get benefits till the end of my benefit year: April of 2015. And some prick at the front desk turns me away and says I can re-apply in six months. I know I don't have six months. I remember the pain of that Monday morning as I walked out of the unemployment office in Elgin, sat in my car, and I cried, I screamed, I cursed, I slapped the steering wheel.

I drove right over to Willow Creek Church and met with a care pastor. It was a young black gentleman, certainly younger than me, which seemed strange to me. But I went with it. He encouraged me, as I expected and gave me a few resources. I felt a little better, but still felt like I was totally drifting. I knew I had a few job opportunities, but until you get the actual offer, they're just that, opportunities. He did encourage me to give financially, which I knew I needed to do. And now it was even scarier.

Fast forward to Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve. Harvey Carey was the guest speaker at the midweek service at Willow Creek. He is a pastor in Detroit, full of life, energy, and passion for God. I knew I had to go. The topic was giving thanks in a strange place. He said so many memorable things but one of them that really stuck with me was this. He said it wasn't about just praying for circumstances to change. But I needed to pray to God for him to change me through my circumstances. That prayer is so much more powerful and impactful.

I can't say what changed, but I knew I was not going to be the same after that. And it took almost another month, but I finally got hired into a full time position. It is a radically different position than what I have been doing previously, but it required good communication, a willingness to help others, and a strong work ethic. That is me.

So $480 later, after having to buy a laptop and a temporary insurance license, I'm ready to go. Let's see what happens.