If you had told me six months ago I would have spent the last week of my life learning about natural gas and electricity, the differences between volts, amps, and kilowatts, and trying to figure out if people around me were actually speaking English, I would have laughed in your face. I was out to change the world and no where in those plans did I consider needing to know how the electric industry was regulated. As has been a general theme the last several years, however, God had other plans.
Monday I found myself sitting in orientation for a job as a Rates Analyst at our local utility company. I have spent the rest of the week trying to keep my head above water (while fighting a nasty cold) and reading page upon page of testimony, electric/natural gas jargon, and acronyms that would make your head hurt. I mean, what kind of sentence has more abbreviations than actual words? But alas, here I am, a week in, sitting here wondering what in the world I signed up for other than a dose of patience as I try to figure out what in the world people are talking about and how in the world I am going to memorize and learn all of this.
The thing is, I still want to change the world. I still have big dreams to fight human trafficking and impact local and global development. My heart beats passionately for the “least of these.” And at times this week, I have seriously wondered if I made the right decision. Should I have held out for a job that fit better with my heart? Did I make the wrong decision?
The whole week, as I have wrestled with that glaring question, two verses keep rolling through my mind-Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 61:1. I believe strongly that the Lord directs each of our steps and I can take you back to a specific moment when I felt that Isaiah 61:1 was my life calling.
The Spirit of the Soverign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1
This step is part of a grand calling on my life. My decision to work as a rates analyst was not a mistake. It was an unexpected bend in the road, but it was most intricately designed by a Savior who holds my deepest desires and passions close to His heart. How exactly the two will play out, at this point I cannot tell you. What I can tell you is that today, I am at complete peace. I have full confidence this is where I am supposed to be. And I am excited about the challenge of learning a new industry, making new friends, and starting a new adventure.
