I had been working for a leading furniture company, selling furniture on commission and making more money than I ever had before. As a single woman with no children and few friends, my life naturally revolved around my career. I spent over fifty hours a week at work, engaged in something that brought me little to no joy.
No one around me understood why I had to quit my job. Loved ones couldn’t understand why I needed to change my situation. I knew selling furniture for a living was not my calling, not my dream, even though I was earning more than I ever had before.
This was not the dream God placed inside of me. Every hour I spent on the clock felt like time wasted.
At that time, I still didn’t want to admit to myself that I needed to leave, I just knew I needed to change my situation. My coworkers could sense this, and even though I always wore a smile on my face, they would often ask what was wrong and tell me I didn’t seem happy.
I was once again, at a job where I was simply going through the motions. Go to work, go home, go to church, play video games, and repeat. Something huge was missing in my life, and I knew there was more.
Then before I knew it, I was offered a promotion.
I was actually excited because it was something different. New surroundings, bigger store, close to my hometown, manager’s pay… It would have been silly to turn down that promotion. What I didn’t know was that my heart was longing for something a promotion couldn’t fill.
Let me give you a little backstory.
While I was seeking God for direction, I went to my church for Prophetic Ministry. As I stood in line waiting for my turn for a prophetic word, I prayed a silent prayer to God asking Him to reveal His will for me. Should I stay in my current position or should I take the risk, uproot my life and move? My heart was, Lord I’ll go wherever you tell me to go.
So the Lord had a word for me.
The young man who stood before me, said God wants to bless you where you are, that He has something for you here. “Where you are right now, God wants to bless that. He is giving you a story to tell. He is trusting you with this story because He knows you will tell it. Because of where you are right now, He’s going to use that and it will spread wherever you go. He also said you’re going to jump out of your situation, it’s not a step, but a jump.”
To anyone who believes that God can speak through people, it sounded like God had told me to stay where right where I was.
But my heart was already set on moving.
This was my chance to make even more money and change my surroundings. I took it as, God wants you to stay with the company where you are right now. He has something for you here with this company. Talk about hearing what you want to hear…
A few months later, I got to the point where I hated going to work.
I had grown to hate being a saleswoman. Being forced to approach people face to face with my tired old sales pitch, only to get rejected with “we’re just looking.” I hated having to deal with customers’ furniture issues over and over.
I would do everything in my power to satisfy customers and resolve their issues. But over time, that approach proved draining. On top of that, as an introvert by nature, I had to actually manage people, or ‘babysit grown ups’ as I like to call it.
Disclaimer: The only reason I got sick of selling was because I had no passion to sell furniture. I fell in love with the company and the people, still the best people on earth in my opinion. There are many folks there who love what they do and earn a great living because of it. But as for me, I was stressed out.
And alongside the stress, was the issue of money.
I had moved to a beautiful apartment in a gated community that I couldn’t afford. I had figured since I’d be earning more money I could make it work. One of the many bad decisions I made that year.
I quickly became miserable working so much and having to spend almost all of my paycheck on rent and bills. House poor and renting.
Meanwhile at work, while everything was spiraling downhill, I was finally honest with myself. I had no desire to sell furniture.
I was a creative person who had come to the end of my rope working jobs that didn’t fit who I was.
And it was the seventh job I left in the eight years I’ve worked as a retail manager.
After spending seven months there, I decided to pack up and move back to Amarillo. God said He had something for me there and I wanted to find out what it was.
At this time, I had already set in my heart to become a web designer.
I began to dream of starting my own web design business. But as I learned to write code, I needed a stress-free side job for income. Enter Starbucks. I had to make the conscious decision for lower pay in the present, in order to earn more doing what I loved in the future.
Also, at this time, the Holy Spirit took me in a direction that I would have never went to on my own. Blogging. I don’t know what His plans are for my career, but I know they will fit my life and personality perfectly. I just need to continue to trust in Him.
So now I’m back in Amarillo with a story to tell.
God is good. He has been with me through the whole trying experience. From being homeless and sleeping in my car, to sleeping in the dark, no electricity, huddled in front of a tiny propane heater in the middle of the coldest week in January.
Yes, this is the story of why I quit my job, and I am so thankful that I’m now learning to be sensitive to the voice of the Lord. No matter your situation, know that God has gifted you to fulfill His plans for your life. And if you’re curious as to what those plans are. Just ask Him.
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
