How much do you think God cares (or divinely designs) our place (i.e., location) of employment? I remember having a conversation w/ Scott a while back (and this may be 100% out of context), but the feeling that I got from him was that we're given a lot of rope in that regard.
The reason why I ask... I like the area, I love the university, I like my students well enough. But there's one (tenured) person--one cancer--that just makes life difficult. She's abusive to students, she's incompetent (both professionally and academically), and it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to do my job (i.e., student recruitment) knowing the needless abuse that these students are about to get. In a sense, I feel like the nazi herding the Jews toward the showers. I sure as heck wouldn't want my kids under her. There was a situation just last night in which I was about to go mushroom cloud. Fortunately, and perhaps divinely, it was resolved (thereby avoiding my gooey-mushroom-cloud-goodness.)
I'm being courted by another university, in a region of the country that I also love, which is much closer to the family. (Not that my familial relations are all that active at this point, but still. For the kids, I guess.) It feels like I'm getting the no-go signal from He who's name cannot be uttered, yet the (lateral) move looks like a viable option (on paper).
The reason why I ask... I like the area, I love the university, I like my students well enough. But there's one (tenured) person--one cancer--that just makes life difficult. She's abusive to students, she's incompetent (both professionally and academically), and it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to do my job (i.e., student recruitment) knowing the needless abuse that these students are about to get. In a sense, I feel like the nazi herding the Jews toward the showers. I sure as heck wouldn't want my kids under her. There was a situation just last night in which I was about to go mushroom cloud. Fortunately, and perhaps divinely, it was resolved (thereby avoiding my gooey-mushroom-cloud-goodness.)
I'm being courted by another university, in a region of the country that I also love, which is much closer to the family. (Not that my familial relations are all that active at this point, but still. For the kids, I guess.) It feels like I'm getting the no-go signal from He who's name cannot be uttered, yet the (lateral) move looks like a viable option (on paper).
posted by Greg | 2:35 PM
1 Comments:
Given my extreme level of job ADD, you might want to take this with several grains of salt, but for what it's worth, I'll throw it out there:
I tend to believe that in most circumstances, God cares only that we are 1) using the gifts He gave us and 2) doing whatever it is we do for His glory. The one caveat is when there is a specific call to a particular place (i.e. someone called into ministry). But if you haven't had a particular call, then I believe the first two apply.
As for divinely designing (which I actually see as a separate thing from caring), I do believe that God designs circumstance geared toward the seasons in our lives and, if we're receptive, we see them for what they are and take advantage of them (and if we're not receptive, we can end up doing our own thing instead - but that circles back to the idea that less a specific call, He doesn't necessarily care.)
As for how that relates to your specific situation, it sounds from an outside observer perspective that maybe there is a new season in the midst of being designed...but really that's something that you're only going to figure out through prayer.
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