My parents would call, extremely excited, and always want details about that specific opportunity and the interviews with that company. It started getting me really upset because I felt like they only cared about that one opportunity and were being biased since that job would put us within driving distance of them. Three years prior, I swore I would never move back to Florida. I personally loved living where there was 4 seasons and we wouldn't have to deal with the extreme heat. Yes, I love my family, but I just didn't ever want to go back. I remember being in tears, praying that one of the other jobs would work out and we wouldn't have to go back to Florida.
I had no idea that 4 months later, Ryan would still be in the interviewing process and still without a job.
Now obviously our biggest prayers were that Ryan would find a job - regardless of where it was. I quickly forgot my resistance towards Florida, or any state for that matter. During our time in New Jersey, we struggled through a lot of different emotions. I couldn't shake the feeling that things were so drawn out for a reason. I would catch myself saying, "God, why is this taking so long?", but I know there is always a plan and a reason for everything.
Fast forward to today. I am so happy that Ryan ended up getting that job in Florida. By the time we moved down here, I hadn't seen my family in over six months and I really missed them. It had also been a pretty brutal winter, and we gladly welcomed the warmer weather. As we've started the house hunting process, we've found a few homes that I'm pretty sure may end up being "the one". I began to realize that sometimes God doesn't change your situation because He wants to change your heart.
Had I moved down here last November I would have had a terrible attitude. I would have always wondered if we were meant to be somewhere else or feel like we were forced to come down here. But after going through those four months of Ryan weeding through companies, interviewing all over the country and finally being offered a fantastic job in Florida - we knew this is where we were meant to be. Do I wish that we wouldn't have had to go through those hard months? Of course! But I watched as God worked on my heart and Ryan's over that time period. I know that the day we moved down here was decided way before it occurred. I know there is the perfect house, neighborhood and church for our family as well. I will love looking back five years down the road and acknowledging all of the things in our life that were dependent on this exact timeline.
My heart has completely changed since November. I am so grateful for Ryan's job and I truly appreciate how special it is to have family so close by. Little things I took for granted are now apparent, and I couldn't me more overwhelmed with all of the blessings in our life.