Faith Precedes The Miracle

I recently had an experience I want to share. It's not an experience I write to show off. On the contrary, it's an experience I write to show you there is power in God.

Photo by Robbie Hammerle

I had been looking for work and came across a job posting that fit my qualifications. I was halfway done with the application when I noticed the position was in a city four hours away. Although my mother and sister live there, I pushed aside the possibility because my husband had already told me he was firmly opposed to moving there. I kept searching for local jobs and forgot about that other opportunity.

Another employment opportunity came up, this time to work from home. I was really excited. I followed the steps for application, which included watching some training videos and taking an automated test. This process took about a week. For the test, I found a quiet spot, made sure I was alert, and inputted my answers to the best of my ability. It was one of the easiest tests I've ever taken! I looked forward to the results. That was on a Monday.

Photo by Adriana Martins

Around the same time, I had received an email from a stranger asking me to finish my application. Puzzled at this request (because no one cares if you've completed an application, much less takes the time to write you about it), I ignored it. I had received other emails from bogus companies in foreign countries, and I was not about to get burned with a scam! Yet a nagging feeling about opening that email kept me going back to it, so I opened it.

The email said to please complete the application, and what was more surprising: It had an authentic signature with a real company. I was still doubtful, but decided to inquire. It turns out that the email was from the company with the job four hours away. I said to myself, "Nothing will happen because my husband won't wanna move anyway, but we'll see why the nagging feeling... Maybe they're expanding and will open something nearby." 

I finished the application, called them, and scheduled a phone interview. The interview was set for Thursday. I had actually been visiting my mother that week and scheduled the interview on the day I was driving back, calculating that my toddler and middle child would be sleeping at that time. I imagined myself peacefully on the highway, kids asleep, killing time on the phone.

The day before the interview, I received an email from the other job, the one to work from home, telling me I could retest in two weeks. What? I didn't pass? That simple test that was so within my skills? There must be some mistake, I said to myself. Yet I set my heart to taking it again in two weeks.

Now it's Thursday. I'm driving down the highway, nervous because my toddler hasn't fallen asleep as expected, and now she's bothering the middle child. They're noisy and only stop bickering for seconds at a time. 

In comes the call as I'm signaling to my children to hush, which of course doesn't happen. So I pull over and get out of the car for a quieter environment, but of all the days... It's windy. I'm having a hard time hearing. The connection is terrible. The lady can't hear me well, and I can't get in the car because the kids are bickering. What do I do? I huddle against the side of the car and cover my breathing space to guard it from the wind. I speak louder and try to make the best of the situation. All of a sudden, a semi driver decides to blow his horn. "Oh, no!" I say to myself, "Now it's really over!" 

The interviewer has more questions, so I get back in the car, seeing the kids have quieted down, and try to finish the interview. They start bickering again, so I get out again and do what I did before. 

I was so miserable by now, I just wanted to give up and say, "You know what, M'am? Forget it... I can't do this." But I couldn't give up. I finished the interview feeling so disappointed. 

After I hung up. I felt angry. That was the worst interview I had ever done! I tried calming down by saying to myself that the kids really do not understand the importance of that call, blaming myself for not choosing a better time, wondering if I could really do this, and taking a deep breath accepting that if it isn't meant to be, there is no power to force it otherwise!

I went about my business of driving. The girls eventually fell asleep, and I couldn't wait to get home and rest. About two hours after the interview, I got a call. A woman tells me, "Congratulations! You passed the interview!" I was in shock. That noisy, crazy interview? The one with the bad connection on the highway and the blaring horn of a semi? Is this a prank?

It took a while for me to get over my surprise. The lady said she wanted me to start a week from Monday. How would I move my family in 10 days? How was all this going to work out?

Well, I knew somehow this was meant to be, that God was moving me towards this change, so I tried not to worry or jump to conclusions. I was just thankful and excited all the way home.

Photo by Robert Linder

  I told my husband about the great opportunity, and then I told him where it was at. His face dropped. He was disappointed. How could I even apply when I knew he was opposed to moving there?

I knew it would take a miracle for this to work, so I decided to go to the temple and fast. A fast is a period of time in which you don't drink or eat anything in prayer so that God grants you a miracle.

Well, God did work a miracle. One evening, my husband and I were getting nowhere in the conversation of this new opportunity, and in the blink of an eye, my husband went from opposing to agreeing for me to take the job. But he wasn't convinced about us moving there. I was going there for just a little while and then coming back. I told him I didn't know what would happen in a month. I just knew God had opened a door, and I wanted to take the opportunity.

The first two weeks at my new job were smooth. I drove down for the weekends. My toddler was in daycare. My mother made my meals. The older girls were doing well in school, and summer was around the corner. 

Yet it wasn't long before more criticism about my new job would come from different sources. I doubted whether I was being selfish or whether God really wanted me to do this. But every time I thought about the miracle of simply getting this job, I stopped doubting. I knew others couldn't see what I could see, and I wondered whether their own fears prevented them from that. I did have the support of a couple of friends, though, but opposition was strong.

Photo by Berkeley Robinson

After weeks of driving down for the weekend and getting all sorts of criticism, my husband agreed to move four hours away. Yes, that's right. My husband agreed to move. 

It just so happened that his boss and he got to travel to one of the offices near my new job. Some conversation about wanting a more family oriented place came up, and his boss said it was OK for my husband to work remotely. This helped my husband feel right about moving. I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our house went up for sale and talks of relocating near my job became the norm.

Now, I just wanted to take you back, for a minute, to that day when I decided to follow what you might call a hunch, and what I call the Holy Ghost, to inquire about that email. What would I be writing about now had I not followed that feeling? I could not have written about this miracle. 

Although the process has been tough (to say the least) I received a lot of strength from God through more fasting and praying, including priesthood blessings. As I write, our house is still up for sale with no offers, but I'm not worried. The Lord brought me this far, and I don't doubt He will continue to lead the way. I stepped into the dark with no support except full assurance from Him, and look at how the doors have opened, one by one.

I leave you with a quote from the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, which just popped in my head as I was finishing:

"Now ye may suppose this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." Alma 37:6

Photo by Vlad Romascanu