When I was working for both the Oregon and the Colorado team there were times when I wondered if the late nights and all the extra work would add up to anything or if it was all a waste of time. I was worried that the temporary position with the Colorado team wouldn't pan out and I was putting the family through unneeded stress.
In December and January I started to get pretty good feedback from the hiring manager in Colorado. I was basically told that if the position were available I was the first on the list to get it, which was heartening, however, I stayed skeptical. I didn't know the manager and wasn't sure if she was just saying what was easy to say when talking about a potential position to a potential candidate. Another issue that was creeping into our minds was the fact that if I got the position sooner than later I would have to move while Annie stayed with the kids to finish school. Watching both our parents go through something similar we knew we didn't want to do that. We realized that getting the job soon would elliviate our immediate stress , but could just introduce a lot more. We thought it would be ideal if I could get the job soon, but be able to work remotely until school was over. I wasn't going to mention this to a hiring manager, but in a conversation she asked when we were wanting to move. I told her when school was over, but we were of course willing to do what was needed to get the job. She assured me that when I got the job I could work remotely until we were ready. "We are Intel after all", she said. What a huge blessing that was going to be in our lives.
After I had been working with the Colorado team for several months and with no sight or sound of the hiring freeze ending soon Annie and I started facing more decisions that depended on where we were going to be for the next year. Cedar's preschool re-registration was approaching fast and we didn't want to lose her spot in the school if we were going to be in Oregon for another year. It was $75 to register her and we didn't want to have to pay that if we were going to be in Colorado for the next school year. We thought of just paying and thinking about the $75 as the cost of peace of mind in case our plan didn't go through. But Tanner's school re-registration was also approaching and it was much more than that and it would not have been a "peace of mind". We had also felt the Spirit on multiple occasions confirming our plan was going to work so we thought that registering Cedar in an Oregon school would be a display of lack of faith.
The week before the re-registration was due that would confirm Cedar's spot in her preschool Annie and I were at the temple and decided to really focus on the answer to the question, "Should we pay the $75 and register Cedar in an Oregon school". We prayed independently and both felt a peaceful feeling about not needing to register Cedar. Without knowing what the future looked like it was difficult for me to just accept that so I continued explaining to Heavenly Father how I thought it would be good to have a backup plan. The
thoughts that entered my mind were, "Sure … I can pay. It's not the end of the world to apply and
pay … but it's not needed." With that I continued my prayer expressing my
desire to have the faith to follow that prompting, to not apply and risk losing
the Cedar's spot in her school. I also asked that that trial of faith not last too long and
that we would know one way or another if I would be offered a permanent
position. I again had a thought enter my mind that within a week I would be offered a position. I really didn't know at the time if that thought was me trying to inject some of my own will and desire, or if it was the Spirit.
We let the day pass when the registration was due, and despite my fears of anxiety, I actually felt okay about it. Then, just under a week since visiting the temple I got an IM from the hiring manager of the Colorado team that just said she had good news. I wasn't able to talk to her until the next day, but she did have good news. She was very excited to tell me that she was allotted one additional head count, and she wanted to offer it to me. We still had to go through the process of applying and accepting, but it became pretty official at that point that I was able to move my family to Colorado, after 5 years of trying. And she again assured me that I could work remotely until the family was ready to move.
I, again, have to doubts that Heavenly Father has made this possible for us, and I am extremely grateful. It shows me just how much He loves me and knows my and my families needs on a personal level. How He is able to do that for each and everyone of us I don't know. But I do know that he does.
