Upcoming changes
I haven't been very active with this web log for the past few months. To make a long story short, I was spending way more time at work than I wanted to, and things still weren't going the direction they needed to go. So...I started looking for something new to do.
Without getting into the ins and outs of everything that happened, I recently accepted a Senior Systems Engineering position in the Rockwell Collins Cedar Rapids plant in their commercial avionics/displays group. I start in early June and Jennifer and the kids move up towards the end of the month.
The job is one I've done before--during my contracting phase at Honeywell in Glendale, Arizona--and I enjoy the challenge of being fastidious since people's lives depend on my workmanship. The approach used at the new facility is different than Honeywell used, so I'll be learning both new tools and new technology. They're even interested in my doing project management for them as I become familiar with their plant.
After a series of very difficult situations, this one has the hallmark--in every way--of God's favor. Things did not turn out exactly as we expected (there was a possibility of a job in Austin that would have allowed us to buy a house across the street from one of Jen's best friends there), but in many ways this seems better.
We're in the process now of arranging for living space near Cedar Rapids. We've already had one excellent serendipity in that process. The schools are smaller than Garland and rumored to be better (it's hard to find a quantitative comparison between schools in Texas and schools in Iowa.)
The whole situation started out in a way that I would--under the sun--call surreal. But as the things keep falling into place, it seems more "realistic" to call it supernatural rather than surreal. There are times in life when God makes his presence so obviously known that you are convinced that he is entirely and completely on your side. This is one of those for us.
But Cedar Rapids, Iowa? We now see God's work of redemption of the time at Honeywell. That time was otherwise very frustrating because of the isolation (I called my hotel suite an "apartment" because it was the place I had to be "apart" from Jen and the family.) I enjoyed the work there, and I originally thought we would join Honeywell...but we couldn't make the numbers work...it was going to be doable to stay on a week-to-week contracting status but not to take a full-time position with them. And the week-to-week contracting left us so up in the air.
In this situation, I feel the exact opposite. We're very likely going to be in the area for 10 years or more. Given their golden handcuffs (very nice benefits and pension plan) it would not surprise me to be in Cedar Rapids until all of the kids are out of high school or even until I retire in 20-25 years. Or...because I like to be busy...I might just stay and work for them for 30 years and retire at 76.
Talking in terms like that seems odd to me. I've never lived in one abode for longer than 4 years. I went to 11 schools before graduating from high school. I enjoy the challenge of learning new things, and it shows in my choice of careers (software) and my career path (lots of contracting/consulting.) But now it seems like the right time to settle in some place so I can spend lots of time with our kiddoes and with Jennifer.
We'll be about 5 miles from the plant. The closest school is three streets over. Nathaniel's school is less than a half mile...the high school, middle school, and elementary school for our area are essentially on contiguous property.
All of this turns into a sense of blessedness that is at times overwhelming. In some ways, it is almost unimaginable. I was listening to Beth Moore again (happened to be in the car again when she was on the radio) and she talked about all of this in an unexpected way.
She said that faith isn't the means to some other end. Faith and relationship with God IS the end...it is the destination we seek. She said she is more than a little suspicious of those that long for more from God--riches, health, even heaven--instead of enjoying just Him. It isn't that she was encouraging ungraciousness towards God for his blessings, but she wondered if it wasn't ENOUGH just to have him?
As we sort through these changes, I've determined that is the goal for our family: that having Jesus is exactly and precisely enough. That faith is not just the journey but is the destination for our lives. That our children learn satisfaction with the things of God above all else.
Won't you join our family in praying for this for us? I think God has already taken us well down that path...by the way...but I'm not satisfied until my entire satisfaction is in him. I'll enjoy the rest as additional blessings...but the main blessing is God Almighty.
Without getting into the ins and outs of everything that happened, I recently accepted a Senior Systems Engineering position in the Rockwell Collins Cedar Rapids plant in their commercial avionics/displays group. I start in early June and Jennifer and the kids move up towards the end of the month.
The job is one I've done before--during my contracting phase at Honeywell in Glendale, Arizona--and I enjoy the challenge of being fastidious since people's lives depend on my workmanship. The approach used at the new facility is different than Honeywell used, so I'll be learning both new tools and new technology. They're even interested in my doing project management for them as I become familiar with their plant.
After a series of very difficult situations, this one has the hallmark--in every way--of God's favor. Things did not turn out exactly as we expected (there was a possibility of a job in Austin that would have allowed us to buy a house across the street from one of Jen's best friends there), but in many ways this seems better.
We're in the process now of arranging for living space near Cedar Rapids. We've already had one excellent serendipity in that process. The schools are smaller than Garland and rumored to be better (it's hard to find a quantitative comparison between schools in Texas and schools in Iowa.)
The whole situation started out in a way that I would--under the sun--call surreal. But as the things keep falling into place, it seems more "realistic" to call it supernatural rather than surreal. There are times in life when God makes his presence so obviously known that you are convinced that he is entirely and completely on your side. This is one of those for us.
But Cedar Rapids, Iowa? We now see God's work of redemption of the time at Honeywell. That time was otherwise very frustrating because of the isolation (I called my hotel suite an "apartment" because it was the place I had to be "apart" from Jen and the family.) I enjoyed the work there, and I originally thought we would join Honeywell...but we couldn't make the numbers work...it was going to be doable to stay on a week-to-week contracting status but not to take a full-time position with them. And the week-to-week contracting left us so up in the air.
In this situation, I feel the exact opposite. We're very likely going to be in the area for 10 years or more. Given their golden handcuffs (very nice benefits and pension plan) it would not surprise me to be in Cedar Rapids until all of the kids are out of high school or even until I retire in 20-25 years. Or...because I like to be busy...I might just stay and work for them for 30 years and retire at 76.
Talking in terms like that seems odd to me. I've never lived in one abode for longer than 4 years. I went to 11 schools before graduating from high school. I enjoy the challenge of learning new things, and it shows in my choice of careers (software) and my career path (lots of contracting/consulting.) But now it seems like the right time to settle in some place so I can spend lots of time with our kiddoes and with Jennifer.
We'll be about 5 miles from the plant. The closest school is three streets over. Nathaniel's school is less than a half mile...the high school, middle school, and elementary school for our area are essentially on contiguous property.
All of this turns into a sense of blessedness that is at times overwhelming. In some ways, it is almost unimaginable. I was listening to Beth Moore again (happened to be in the car again when she was on the radio) and she talked about all of this in an unexpected way.
She said that faith isn't the means to some other end. Faith and relationship with God IS the end...it is the destination we seek. She said she is more than a little suspicious of those that long for more from God--riches, health, even heaven--instead of enjoying just Him. It isn't that she was encouraging ungraciousness towards God for his blessings, but she wondered if it wasn't ENOUGH just to have him?
As we sort through these changes, I've determined that is the goal for our family: that having Jesus is exactly and precisely enough. That faith is not just the journey but is the destination for our lives. That our children learn satisfaction with the things of God above all else.
Won't you join our family in praying for this for us? I think God has already taken us well down that path...by the way...but I'm not satisfied until my entire satisfaction is in him. I'll enjoy the rest as additional blessings...but the main blessing is God Almighty.
posted by greg.w.h@3:53 PM link-to-post
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