God Isn't Santa

A few months ago, I applied for an internal position in my company that I was really hoping to get. When I got the call from the hiring manager asking to meet with me, I did a little happy dance in my office.

By the end of the interview, I was certain I had it in the bag and was told I would know the final decision in a week. One week turned to two, two to three and before I knew it a month had gone by. After tracking down the hiring manager with the tenacity of this gentleman:

he told me that they had decided to go with someone who had previous experience in the role. I was devastated. When a friend asked me about the job, I replied that it didn't work out but that it was for the best b/c I was clearly meant for something else. As I said those words, I couldn't help but wonder if I was saying it b/c I believed it or if I was saying it in an effort to convince myself. I had prayed so hard for this. Why did I get so far just to be let down?

A few weeks later, I was offerred a position in a similar role to the one that I originally had my heart set on. Today I went to my new building to set up my cubicle when I came across a familiar face, one of the people that had interviewed me for the first job that turned me down. "You're so much better off here," he said. I learned that he, along with a couple more people, left that group shortly after I interviewed b/c they were so unhappy.

It's days like today that remind me not to treat my prayers like they're letters to Santa. I often ask for things that I want and what I think is best then get so easily discouraged when things don't go my way. Had I gotten that first job, I would've had to take on a huge workload in order to fill the void left by the people who quit, giving me virtually no work-life balance. I would've been stuck working for an awful manager who had already chased several good employees away. I would've never taken the extra steps to better prepare for my next interview where I blew the socks off the members of my new group. And most importantly, I would've never seen yet another example of how God always has bigger and better plans for us, even if we don't see it right away.