Provision

Cliff and I finally had our "spousal interview" yesterday afternoon with his would-be boss and his wife. It was funny, coming into the interview, because we didn't really know what to expect and I was especially curious as to what my role would be at the lunch. But it was great, I mean, really great. The fact that they invite spouses (or in my case, future spouses) into the process to show that they don't just care about the individual filling the job but the person behind the individual filling the job speaks volumes about the culture of care and inclusion that The Lampo Group has. Anyways, we had a great lunch that was just really comfortable and exciting - everything sounded really promising not just about the job and company, but Cliff's fit with the organization and the prospect of him working there.

Well, he got the call today and the job is his. How cool, right? Gosh, I'm excited! This process of job searching has been one of the more challenging things Cliff has faced in awhile (besides living in Sudan for five months) and I've been right alongside him for the good and bad of it all. He's put in a lot of hours and work at Belmont, helping the students succeed and really investing in SIFE - instead of just biding his time until something else came along. Because of that, his work with John and SIFE turned into a conversation with individuals that work with Dave Ramsey who are also partners in some SIFE projects, which turned into a series of interviews for a position that seems like the perfect balance of stability and challenge for Cliff. And it's SUCH a cool company and environment to work in, seriously - it was named one of the Nashville Business Journal's Best Places To Work in Middle Tennessee (I'm kind of jealous, actually).

Not to mention all of this happened with Cliff putting in a whole month's worth of work at Belmont with no paycheck, and his only income coming from a pair of tickets to an event that John gave to Cliff as compensation for him to sell on eBay that didn't amount to hardly a third of what he'd been making the previous months. But Cliff didn't give up... and that's what I love about him and about our God who both guides and provides for us. And a great job doesn't solve all of the problems in the world or ensure a perfect marriage, I know, but as Cliff and I continue to dream about, plan for, and pray over our future together, it's nice to see just another example of how we can't do this on our own and most great things in life happen not because of what we do but because of a gracious and loving God who knows us and sees the big picture and is faithful. That's good... that's real good.