I was ready to take on the world when I graduated from college with my communications degree. I had an internship lined up with a Christian magazine, I had been a copy editor for my university’s newspaper, and I had my first article headed to print for a real magazine.
Yes, I felt on top of the journalism world for a fresh-out-of-college kid.
Until I received an email from my internship stating their magazine was going under, and, therefore, my internship was gone. Just like that.
I remember the immediate sinking feeling. At the time, I was working as a seasonal camp director for a Christian summer camp in Indiana. My summer had been carefree in the sense that I didn’t have to apply for any jobs. But in one email, my plans crumbled, and my stress level rose.
In the midst of mentoring my staff and helping campers fight against homesickness, I realized I had to face the music and start applying for other journalism jobs. But the more I applied, the worse I felt.
Why am I not excited? I wondered each time I saw another potential position. I applied for multiple jobs out of obligation, wondering all the while why my heart was in none of it. You know that awful, almost sick feeling you get but have no idea why? That was me. Each time I uploaded my resume and sent another email, that sick feeling crawled around inside me, threatening to steal my courage.
Believing I must get a job in the field that matched my degree felt essential.
After all, I had to prove them wrong. Them being the naysayers and everyone who told me print was a dying field. The ones who asked me why I would ever want to do this. I had to show them I could overcome the obstacles.
So you can imagine how I felt when my boss at camp offered me a year-long internship as the middle school director. Excited? Well, sure, I absolutely loved my job there. I was thriving, soaking in each moment with my staff and my campers. But I also felt confused.
This wasn’t a journalism job. If I took this job, I would be a walking symbol to all the world that I had failed.
But the more I thought and prayed about it, the more I realized God’s standards of job success look nothing like the world’s standards. Nothing like my standards. God reminded me I don’t need a journalism job to use the skills He has given me. I don’t need to worry about what other people think about my job.
It took laying aside my pride to realize God doesn’t use us because of our education. He uses us because He desires to do so. And He wanted to use me at camp.
I remember the moment I decided to accept the job. I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to finally lay aside all my prideful fears. It was time to be brave.
God is not a God of coincidence. Share on XHe chose to nudge me at that very moment — when I was helping my coworker restock camp bathrooms— to remind me He can use us in whatever job we’re accomplishing.
He can use us in the moments when our jobs feel ordinary.
He can use us in the moments when we don’t feel courageous.
He can use us no matter what our diplomas say.
Yes, our God desires to use all of us at each job He’s entrusted to us. Whether it’s a new job, a new role or something you’ve been doing for what seems like forever.
God helps us step forward and lay aside our pride as we bravely accept what He has set before us. Share on X
Oh, how thankful I am that God enabled me to be brave enough to take that job! I worked at that camp for nearly three years. It was through a friend there that I went to a local church and met the man who is now husband. It was through that camp where I met some of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.
And it was at that camp where God taught me how to be brave. How to let go of the belief that job titles matter to Him. How to bravely set aside my ideas of success and remember His plans are better than my own.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” ~Proverbs 19:21, NIV
Emily Saxe was raised on the east coast but currently resides in Indiana with her husband. Working as a full-time freelance writer and editor, her heart and her pen are drawn to stories of faith as she helps people share how God is working in their lives. Everyone has a story to tell, and Emily loves helping to give people a voice to share their own story. Read more of Emily’s articles on her website, To Unearth.
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Catch Up On Previous Made for Brave Stories…Here
Sisters, we are called to walk the way of hope instead of the way of defeat. We must claim more than our title of “Daughter of the King.” We must step up and also claim our position.
And we must claim these together. As a sisterhood; a sisterhood of brave women who stand strong in the promises of who God is and who we are.
- We all are Made for Brave.
- We are made to live for something authentic and brave.
- In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love!
So, I’m inviting you to join this Made for Brave Sisterhood, each Monday as we share our stories and allow God to bring hope and healing. Let’s commit to being authentic and brave, one step at a time, side by side, holding each other up and nudging each other toward our true selves. And let’s claim the victory waiting on the other side of brave; for ourselves and our sisterhood.
Let’s celebrate our tears and our struggles as we peel away the layers of fear to reveal the beauty of brave.
Let’s risk everything that brave requires for everything that brave has to offer…
Becoming who we were created to be!
In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love! #MadeforBrave #Hope Share on XDo you have a Made for Brave story to share? Get the writing guidelines and submit your stories HERE!
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