I'm back! I know, I know, it's been forever since I posted my one and only post. I'm just not a very good writer let alone blogger. I just had an amazing experience this past week and I really wanted to share it.
For the past several months--well since coming home in April--I have been stuck in, what I like to call, a rut. When I decided to live with my parents instead of doing another semester at BYU Idaho I had it all planned out. I would work at Kids Klub while I find a full time job and in the mean time work on my mission papers. I thought it was a perfect plan! My papers would be done and turned in by June and I'll be out by September. Ha! Yeah right, I should have known that wouldn't work. Nothing seemed to work out like I wanted it to. As the months rolled by, my life seemed to be gong nowhere; no full time job, very little money, living with my parents. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my family and I wouldn't change who they are for anything. They are all so good to me and are willing to do anything for anyone; but living with my parents, I lose my sense of independence that I thrive on. As well as losing my independence, I lose my social life. My parents moved to Vancouver, Washington my sophomore year at BYU--Idaho. It's a great town, but I'm not close to anyone outside my family. I have a few friends and acquaintances in the singles ward, but no one close enough to 'hang out'. I know, part of it is my fault because I don't care for singles wards... allow me to elaborate, I'm prejudice against them, my reasons could fill another post. Needless to say, I don't participate very much. Now, there's work. I came home from Idaho thinking I'll get a nice full time job with bonuses... that definitely did not happen. Not due to lack of effort, but due to lack of jobs in Clark County, Washington; which again could fill another blog post. Short story, the economy in Clark County is the worst in all of Washington. I didn't have enough experience in anything other then lifeguarding, and there aren't very many pools in Vancouver. On top of all that, my papers were going slower than I thought they would. Now, we're halfway through November and they still aren't in. Needless to say, I was frustrated when I went to the doctor to get a physical and it cost too much without insurance, which I wasn't sure I even had due to the fact that I was no longer and official full time student. "Great, now what," was all I could think of. Then, I got an idea.
For the past few weeks, I've really been thinking about going back to school. Then I would talk myself out of it thinking, "you have a plan to serve a mission, stick with it Amber." Well, it was a great debate in my head for a very long time. Finally, I decided I needed to at least register for classes in order to be a full time student and have insurance and get these papers done and in so I could finally be were I was supposed to be. I went straight home and registered for my classes, which was no small task because I was a few days late. Believe it or not, I was able to get into every class that I needed to. So, my brain started working again, "what if I just act like I'm going back to school because who knows when I'll actually get my call, let alone leave?" I decided to call up my roommate, Lindsay, to see where she was living and if they had any room available. She told me where she was living, Hillcrest Townhouses, and told me all about them; no more than four girls per apartment, as well as private room offers. Lindsay was in a private room. That was a bummer, I didn't want to share a room with a girl I didn't know very well. I figured I could just get a private room, that would be really nice. But, of course they were all full. Darnit. I decided I might as well look at Bulletin Board to see if anyone was trying to sell a private room contract. Believe it or not, I found one! I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe how everything was working out just the way I needed. I got the private room contract with the roommate I've been with since day one and an excellent class schedule. I forgot that I wasn't actually sure if I was going to return or not. That's when I started thinking about just going back for one semester and have my mission availability day after the semester was over. That's when I decided this was really going to happen. I was going back to BYU Idaho for another semester. I couldn't have been happier. Then my bubble almost burst.
If I were to go back to school, I needed a job. Jobs weren't easy to come by in a college town. Everyone needs a job. As soon as that occurred to me, I e-mailed one of my managers I had while working food services asking if there were any early morning bakery positions open. I waited twenty-four hours and didn't get an e-mail back. The night before, I prayed to Heavenly Father, asking if going back was the right thing for me to do and if this was not what I was supposed to do, just don't let it work out. When I didn't get a e-mail that day, I figured I'd just call him--squeaky wheel gets the grease right? No answer. Called him again, no answer again so I left a message. Then I called again and he finally answered! Asked him if he got my messages and he said that he had and he was waiting for a conformation a 4-7am shift for me. YES!! That meant I pretty much had the job! Everything worked out just like I needed! I'm going back to BYU Idaho!!
The point of this story is Heavenly Father's impact on our lives. There is no logical reason for all of that to work out the way it did. I obviously need to go back for at least one more semester before going on my mission. For the first time in months, everything worked out so perfectly, almost too perfectly, and I will never forget it. School is where I need to be and Heavenly Father made that clear.
