STRESSS...and release!

WOW!! I have been on a massive roller coaster over the past week. Last Thursday, I woke up in Thailand not feeling well ... at ALL! I had a major case of the stomach bug that was going around! Well I was finally able to start keeping my food in my tummy and we arrived home safely... only for me to realize how much school work I had left undone due to ice storm's power outages before we left. I had major catching up to do...and major jet lag!
Needless to say, it took me a few days to get back on my feet. However while still feeling like I was drowning in school work, monday night I had to return to work to find that my leave of absence request had been denied and later that night I also had the privelage to get a piece of metal rammed UNDER my thumbnail, a good 1/4 inch deep! OUCH!! But back to the leave of absence... For those that don't know, I've requested a 2-month leave of absence to go on a mission trip to the Philippines for two months, where I'll be working in an orphanage. This was a huge blow that I didn't see coming. I knew that God wanted me to go on this trip.
After praying that if God wanted me to go that He would revel that to me, He definately did. With the help of a Godly woman by the name of Heather W., I prayed that God would revel my strengths to me, so I could narrow the search of IMB projects He wanted me on. I 'realized' that I loved working in the nursery at church and working with kids. So with that, I went back over the projects and this one jumped off the screen, and I knew this was where the Lord wanted me. So I continued to pray and asked the Lord to close doors if He didn't want me to go. However a month or so after I completed my application, I got the phone call saying that I had been approved. But that wasn't the only thing I recieved; I also recieved a peace, I knew this was what the Lord wanted at this point in my life. So in full faith, I requested the leave of absence...knowing that it would be granted.
Needless to say, monday night hit me like a ton of bricks. I was confused, but oddly enough I still had that peace. I knew that the Lord was in control of everything, so I immediately went to Him in prayer, confessing my fears and worries and concerns. That's when I remembered the words of my best friend, Emily B. A few months ago when talking about the leave of absence (LOA), she asked me what I would do if it got denied. I told her I really didn't think I needed to worry about that...but still what if??? she asked. She looked at me and simply said.. "You'll have to quit. If the Lord is leading you on this trip, you HAVE to go." How little did I expect her to hit so close to what would happen!
So as I thought of my possible options, I thought about some other aspects of the equation:
1) My next semester I have to take Anatomy... which is an 8 am class. 2) My family and I knew that when the 8 am mandatory classes began, I would probably have to quit UPS and 3) I have a few science classes (Anatomy being 1) that I have to take and then I'll be ready to apply for Upper Division Nursing (the intense part!) and I knew I would have to quit UPS at that point.
So if you see... I was getting close to the point of needing a job change anyway. I'm now realizing that this declined LOA was the Lord's way of telling me it might be time to move on from UPS.
Going back to that roller coaster I was on...
Today (well yesterday.. Thursday) I was completing a resume, a requirement for me to sign my contract so that UPS will pay for this semester of school, when I was shown to a website, a job search website for Louisville. As part of the requirements I have to register and put my resume up ( I got to choose whether it was public or private) and I noticed that I could chose to have hours around school hours. I looked at the lady, amazed, and said, "Can I use this.. like.. now?? I don't have to wait till I graduate college???" She simply responded, "um.. yea. That's what it's here for. Are you thinking about a job change?" I replied, "It's looking that way."
So at this point I've not found any one job in particular, but there are a ton of options and I'm sure the Lord will point one out before long.
So, this morning (which is still like Thursday night for me) I have finally gotten all caught up and ahead of school work and may be looking for another job come June!
In this week I have been... sick, knocked out on a plane, jet lagged, swamped, pained, blind sided, confused, stressed, hurt, misguided, lost, found, rescued, relieved, and guieded. . . I think I got it all.. I may have left something out... but you get the idea!

All I have to say now is Praise the Lord!! I'm soo soo soo grateful He is in charge of my life and not me... whew, I don't think I could handle running this life of mine!