Money and Jobs and Books- Oh My!

Another blog about nothing (these are my favorite kinds).

I've had alot of time to think some things through. I've realized that I make things way more complicated than they need to be. Life is not supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be enjoyed. I just put alot of pressure on myself to succeed when I should "let go and let God," as the old adage says. I have decided to do this with my job search and my novel.

I realized that God will bring me the job He wants me to have, just as He's brought me every other job I've had. When I was working at the Limited, the manager from Express came in to recruit, and that's how I got the job. When I was searching for jobs last year, a recruiter found my resume for Dell. Both of those jobs landed in my lap at the right moment, so I should just trust that God will bring me the next right job when the time is right. God knows what's best. It's made the whole job search thing alot more relaxing, knowing that I don't have to do all the work myself.

Also, when it comes to my novel, I've been putting so much pressure on myself to make it "perfect" and "publishable," and I've taken all the fun out of it. I've decided to just enjoy the creative process and not critique my work so much. I volunteer at a place called Imagine Art, which is an art ministry for people with disabilities. What's funny is that I went into that place thinking I could help them and heal them, and instead, the people there have provided more help and healing to me. They have taught me pure acceptance- of myself, others, and my creativity. I never realized how critical I was of myself and my creations, and after working with the people there, they have allowed me to accept the little nuances and imperfections of everything, including my past.

That's something else: my past. Geez. It's been a rough path trying to make peace with my past. Letting go has never been easy for me. And accepting my past is near impossible. But I found a verse in the Bible that spoke wonders to me:

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:13-14

After reading this, I thought, "What?! You mean I don't have to focus so much energy on resolving my past?!" Of course not! How preposterous to ever think that! The past is long gone, my dear friends, so move on! There's no sense in expending so much energy on something that is over. That was liberating for me. I can move on and move forward and never give another thought to stupid things of the past. Thank the Lord.

Change of subject: I think our society works in interesting ways. I recently read somewhere how much money we spend on creating ads that cater to people who live in poverty. Such as alcohol ads to ease their pain and let them forget their problems for awhile. Or clothing ads that appeal to the lower class with street lingo. It's like we're trying to pacify their problems so they can forget about them, instead of using that money, time, and energy to actually understand and mend their problems.

The way America uses their money in general is frightening. But that's a topic for a whole separate blog.

I'm off my soapbox for now. Lend me your thoughts.