Exciting News!

I can finally tell you all, because it was announced at work today, so now it's official, and I don't have to keep it a secret anymore! I bet some of you thought I was pregnant, didn't you? Nope. It's work-related.

But before I tell you, I'll give you a little back story. There was this girl that I used to work with, and then she started working out at our gym, so then we were work buddies and work out buddies. And it was great! And then she found a better job, with better pay, and benefits, and bonuses, and all that good stuff that my company is not able to do at the moment because of the tough economic times. They do provide benefits, but only to permanent employees. I am still a seasonal, and so was she, and she wanted more, and went out and got it.

That was back in February. Ever since then, I've been wondering if I should stay at my job, or try to look for something else. It's not cool that I'm still seasonal, and that I don't have benefits, and that I wasn't getting a raise, despite the fact that my responsibilities have greatly increased. And I found out, not too long ago, that my job was stressing Art out. He thought they were "screwing me over", and he said it worried him to put me on a bus every day. What if something happened to me? I don't have any sort of coverage, like insurance, or work benefits.

So I started praying about it. I felt unsure about what I should do, because I'm really quite grateful for my job. I'm good at what I do, and I keep remembering a year ago when Art and I couldn't support ourselves because I wasn't working, and he only had a part time job. And maybe the corporate people in my company can't give me what I may deserve, but I don't work with them. I work with my manager and my coworkers, and as far as I'm concerned, I've been treated very well. I don't feel that I've been "screwed over".

But if it was that important to Art, then I would pray, and look around to see what else was out there. After a couple of months of this, I didn't really feel that I had heard a definite answer from God, but I felt uneasy in my spirit anytime I thought about quitting. Art reminded me that I don't owe the company anything, but at the same time, I just didn't feel that this was the time to leave. We're gearing up for our busy season, and I still have people to train, and I don't feel that there is anyone who could replace me.

I felt like if I quit now, I would leave them in a bind, and I really didn't want to do that. If I was going to quit, fall would be a much better time. Things are slower then.

So I've been wrestling with this for quite some time now (or so it feels like), but I didn't blog about it because, to be honest, I didn't want any advice. I have gotten some good advice about it already, and though there is no earthly reason why I should stay, I know that God doesn't follow earthly reasoning. If HE wanted me to stay, then HE had a reason, and that is good enough for me. I was concerned that any other advice might confuse what He was trying to tell me.

On Thursday of last week, I got my answer. I had a meeting with my boss at the end of the day, and she offered me a promotion, to officially become a team lead. And yes, it comes with a raise. The raise wasn't huge, but it was more than I had hoped for. And since I already feel like I'm leading a team, it's nice that she has made it official, and that I'm being paid more than a seasonal.

The downside to this is that the position is temporary. It just until fall, until the end of the busy season. That includes the raise. And I'm still not going to be permanent. But this opportunity gets me that much closer to being hired as permanent. It also gives me an opportunity to move up within the company. And it looks great on a resume. If I do decide to quit in the fall, I can feel good about it, because now I can have enough time to train my replacement, and I'm going to be qualified for much higher-paying positions.

I feel so much peace now, because it was really stressing me out, knowing that working there made me happy, but it upset Art so much. He is no longer stressed about it. He's very happy about the promotion and raise, and he supports my decision to hold off on looking for another job until the fall.

I don't know if I will even look for a different job in the fall. I'm keeping it in the back of my mind. But I won't look for another job before that time.

So that's my happy exciting news. I feel ready to be more of a leader for my small team. I have ideas for goals I would like to make, and how to keep them. I know that there will be challenges as well, and I'm ready to face them. I'm really glad that my department is going through these changes, because we have doubled our staff numbers, and it's a much better way of managing things. I'm not the only person to be given a temporary lead position and raise, and I think it's great that I get to be part of a team of leads. This is a wonderful positive change.