Eye Love...

... how the Lord cares and provides for me beyond what I even need.

I've been at my new job at LensCrafters for about two months now. I am learning more and more all the time, and getting to know my co-workers better and better. Being there is a greater blessing than I even thought it would be, and the anxiety that I had over accepting the position seems silly now. God has had a hand in every step in the transition from The Children's Place to LensCrafters. And I am so humbled and grateful for how He has been at work.

Before the new year began, I went into the store to help my mom pick out her first pair of "all the time" glasses. We were helped by the store manager, and I was pleased to get to catch up with an old high school chum. As I chatted with him and helped my mother decide on lenses, the Lord was laying groundwork for a plan for a new phase for me and my family.

I had become increasingly discouraged with the hours I was working at The Children's Place, and equally discouraged with the amount of time that I was away from my children and how much that I was getting back for my time. I wasn't complaining (well, not too much), and I was so thankful for the job that I had as the Lord provided it for our family so wonderfully. But it was beginning to wear on me.

Weeks went by, and out of the blue, I had a message from my high school friend. "My boss liked you, want a job," was the title. As I read, I was very surprised to learn that there was interest in me applying to work at LensCrafters. I went in, picked up an application, and the rest is history.

I cannot deny the hand of Providence in this. I work a more consistent number of hours, make more money, and get off in the evening much earlier than I did before. I feel that my time away from my children is more "worth it" as I can earn more by meeting personal goals and working as a member of a team to meet store goals.

There is a lot to learn (and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT), and that is always a good thing (because I think learning is good). I also now I have a job where I get to help people every time I am there. I am helping people see better and look better. I feel good about sharing the products we offer at LensCrafters because there is not another store that I will go to for my own glasses. That in and of itself, is important to me.

Of course I wish that I could just be at home all the time now, but I know that this is just a season as Casey finishes school, and like so many, have had to "do what we have to do" to make ends meet.

I'm just so grateful that the Lord saw fit to offer such grace to me as I try to do my best to care for my family and balance that with needing to be in the workplace. He moved hearts to think of me and take action. He opened up my own heart to step out in faith and accept a position where I didn't know anyone but one person that I really hadn't spoken to in eleven years. He eased my discouragement by putting me in a place that is so much better for everyone in my family. He has even allowed me to stay on at The Children's Place and change out the window displays. This keeps the merchandise discount, which we use, and keeps the connections with the people that I dearly love in that store.

So yeah, eye I love how the Lord cares and provides for me beyond what I even need!

Not Me! Monday: Hard-to-Handle Hosiery

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!, a blog carnival created by MckMama. If you visit her blog, you can see what others are NOT doing. This is a chance to laugh at yourself and with others over those things that we wish never happened....

Enjoy.

Most people can relate to beginning a new job and wanting to do well and make a good impression on your co-workers and boss. Well, this last week, I'm not too sure how I did:

Since the sun was breaking through the usually cloudy days in Oregon, I thought that it would be delightful to wear a dress to work. So off I went in a work-appropriate attire, but as I walked in the the store, I noticed that my thigh-high pantyhose were not behaving. With each step, I could feel that I was in for a battle.

That day I was expecting my mother to visit me at work, so I certainly was not staring out the large glass windows looking for her to the point that I was barely paying attention to what was going on in the actual store. I certainly was not panicked or preoccupied with the idea of my stockings falling down. Not Me!

I did not walk around the store gingerly, hoping that it might prevent... uh.... slippage. Nor did a constantly tug up on the slippery stockings as a walked around helping and checking in with customers. Not Me!

I did not hide behind the counter to hike up said pantyhose, trying to avoid being seen by employees and customers. I did not fearfully wait on several people in a row, just hoping that I wouldn't have to walk much. Not Me!

When my mother did finally show up, I did not beg her to go next door to Target and purchase regular pantyhose for me. After returning with the pantyhose, I was not so busy with customers that my mother LEFT WITH THE SAVING PANTYHOSE! And I absolutely didn't reveal to my current customer my problem, hand her over to my associate, take one last trip behind the counter to "get everything nice and high", and nearly sprint out the door to find my mother. Oh no. I'm not that pathetic. Certainly Not Me!

By the way, my new male manager that I would like to make a good impression on, wasn't looking at me weird either. So that's good.

By the time I got to the fabric store, the stupid pantyhose were certainly not down to my ankles. And thank goodness I didn't have to hide behind a giant fabric bin to "get everything nice and high" again. That would be ridiculous, and Not Me!

Walking briskly back to the store, I certainly didn't have my pantyhose nearly fall beneath my knees again before I could make it to the bathroom and change. I didn't get confused glances from the girls at the reception desk of the doctor's office either. Nope, Not Me!

Upon returning to work, it was nice to see that my customer "in the know," wasn't laughing or entertained at all by my calamity.

*Sigh* Oh well, at least that was NOT ME!