My job, for real?

I had one of those days today where I literally woke up and said... "How did I actually end up here?"

I don't know if any one else has experienced this bizarre realization that seems to come from no where.... you will know if you have.

Here is a very brief summary of how it goes. Today I woke up, took a moment to make sure I was awake, then literally said to myself (in my head), "Oh my gosh, I am actually an adoption social worker." For some this may look more like, "I am a Mother", or, "I am a Surgeon", or, "I am a Pastor", or, "I am a Musician"...etc, etc.. I am sure I will have other moments in life where I feel this way other than today. I have had them in the past, for example, " How did I end up climbing the Alps with a gang of street children " or "I did make it back to Africa" or, "How did I end up with a condo, a husband, and a dog, in Chicago!" Life truly can be surreal.

Yes, today I woke up wondering how it could be true I was living out something I imagined once during my high school years. I vividly remember the details of the conversation. I was driving in my parents white Buick, we were just past the Cantera movie theaters on Deihl Road, it was late, we were chatting and I said something along the lines of, "I think I know the perfect job for me. I would love to help families adopt children who have special needs, or just help families adopt, and work with them throughout what all that means. There has to be some sort of job or counseling for that, right?" Truthfully, I have no idea where this desire from such a young age came from. I did not understand what it really means to be an orphan or to be adopted. However, I did know it was something I could grow to understand, and I wanted too.

Here we are today, and I actually have that job, wow. I am not sure how it happened. Although, really of course I know, it was all God. Here we go Jeremiah 29:11... he does have a plan. I have known this all along, but not remembered it in the midst of stressful transitions, secular work places, and bad management. It is so easy to get caught up with the worldly path of finishing degrees, internships, getting into the field, and then landing a job. It it easy to forget why, and how, I got where I am. Thank you Jesus! I know I am blessed to be where I am.

Yes, I know. Trust me, I know, many of you have heard me complain, cry, and vent about my job. Thank you, I appreciate you listening. It is VERY complicated and stressful. However, just today I had a client ask me, "Do you find it fulfilling?" And I can answer truthfully with a resounding, YES! For that I am thankful. I am happy to be a part of many resolutions, meeting needs, and building families. Also, I am so happy and so lucky to be in a place I actually imagined I might be 10 or so years ago. Seriously, who thinks that will actually happen,!! I sure didn't- and I def. picked a very specific route!

I am not sure if I see myself in this type of work forever. However, I do know that I "get" adoption, and all of the factors that come along with it. I love what I do. Even though the systems in place,the powers that be, and the people involved, are not always easy to work with- at the end of the day I am working to build families and meet peoples needs and that is completely amazing and humbling to me more and more each day!