Grateful for Change

We said goodbye to the golf course last week.

The clubhouse at Jim's course

After about 14 years of working there in different capacities, Jim is moving on from the course, and actually going back to a previous workplace - our church's Christian school.
Jim and I met at that school - not as students, but as teachers!

A scrapbook page I made about how Jim and I met

After finishing college with an undergrad degree in Bible and a master's degree in school administration, Jim moved home to teach at the little Christian school he had attended as a child.  A few years later, I was hired to teach first grade at the school, and after a year as co-workers and friends, we started dating.  That summer, we got engaged, and the following summer, we got married.  We taught together for two more years before Jim left the school to find a job that would allow us to have children and for me to be a stay-at-home mom.
Jim's decision to leave the school after nine years of teaching was an extremely difficult one, and one that involved a lot of thought and prayer.  He loved teaching, and he hated to leave, but there were no opportunities for advancement there.  We felt that God was leading us to start a family, and we both wanted me to be able to stay home with our children.  Jim tried to find an administrator position in another Christian school, but all the openings we found at that time involved moving out of state, and none of them would have paid enough to provide for our family.  He ended up being hired on as the assistant manager at the golf course where he had been working during summer vacations, and through the years, he has worked his way up to the position of general manager of that course.

Drew playing golf at Jim's course

Though we have been so grateful for the way the Lord has provided for our family through Jim's job at the golf course, we have been praying for the last couple of years for a change of employment for him.  The schedule of the course was not always family-friendly, and dependence upon the weather for time off and revenue can be difficult.  We were content for Jim to remain at the course for as long as God wanted him there, but we were praying that God would open up another opportunity.  We were praying for a job that would allow Jim to have a more traditional work schedule (5-day work weeks, with weekends off) to give him more time with our family and allow him to be at church each Sunday.
About a month and a half ago, our pastor called Jim and told him that the administrator of our church's school (the school where we met and taught, and where Drew goes to school) was suddenly and unexpectedly leaving mid-semester, and our pastor was wondering if Jim would be willing to put his name in for the job.  We were surprised by this news and concerned about the possible reasons the previous principal would have for leaving at this point in the school year, but we were excited for the opportunity and saw it as a possible answer to our prayers.
Jim spent the next few days updating his resume and getting answers to some of our questions.  After a good interview with our pastor, Jim's information was passed on to the school board, which unanimously recommended him to the rest of the deacon board.  Jim met with the deacon board a couple weeks ago, and they offered him the job.  He has accepted it, and he starts today as the new administrator at the school!

Our school

We are thrilled for this opportunity and are excited to see how God will use Jim in this new position.  His return to full-time Christian ministry is not something we saw coming, but God has brought us to this place, and we feel that with Jim's education and his experience as a teacher and as a business manager, he is uniquely qualified for this position.  It has taken some time, but in bringing Jim back to the school, God has given Jim the desire of his heart, and we are grateful!
Jim will miss the golf course.  He worked with some wonderful people there, and he will miss them.

Employee entrance at the course

However, Jim has a fantastic staff at the school, and he is excited to begin working with them.  It has been a difficult few months for our school and church, with the previous principal and several other teachers and families leaving, and though we know this transition might not be easy, we are looking forward to seeing how God will work.  We are rejoicing, in this week of Thanksgiving, for God's working in our school and His provision for our family, and we are praying for His help in the weeks ahead.