Changes

I guess I could have written this post a long time ago, but I figured I would wait until things were more settled. As many people have heard, we are moving in a couple weeks. We were so excited about Jeff's new job when he finished residency. We thought it looked like a great opportunity in a great area. Well, a few months into the job we realized it wasn't quite what we had hoped for. Without going into great detail, there were things Jeff didn't like about the job and they weren't going to be changing anytime soon. The first six months after residency were extremely stressful, probably some of the most of our entire married life. It was frustrating since we had just moved and gotten settled. We didn't have any other plans, and the kids were settled into schools etc, so we decided that we would just stay in the area and stick it out for a while. Meanwhile we started looking at many different options, trying to figure out what we should do. It seems interesting that some of the most stressful times in life, can also bring about times of enormous spiritual growth and increased faith. I really don't want to relive the stress, but I'm grateful for the positive spiritual aspects that came about at the same time.

In September/October Jeff was approached by a hospital that had approached him with a job opportunity right after residency. At the time he didn't feel quite ready for their proposal so he declined the interview and opportunity. Well, they were contacting him again to see if there was any chance he would still be interested in the job. They were also hiring another ophthalmology specialist, a lady who happened to be LDS as well. This time, he started to consider it and so in November, Jeff and I (with Emily) flew out for a few days for Jeff to interview and look at the area. We had a great experience and felt good about the opportunity. In December, Jeff signed the contract. It really was a miracle the way that everything worked out. They had never advertised the job, they got a hold of Jeff's resume and approached him. When he declined the first time, they decided to just wait on starting up the new practice. When the other doctor contacted them a couple months later to see if they were still interested, they decided to go ahead with it, and decided to call Jeff again. Although we were confused at the time why so many things weren't working out with his current job, we really believe it needed to be that way in order to point us in a new direction. My dad once told me of a story about a general authority who shared an experience of when he was traveling somewhere and running low on gas. At one point he came to a forked road, and didn't know what road he was supposed to take. He prayed about what direction he should drive, felt good about a particular road way and went that direction. Pretty soon he came to a dead end. He wondered why he had felt prompted to take that road when all it did was lead him to a dead end. Then it occurred to him that maybe coming to the dead end was the quickest way the Lord could have shown him where the correct road was. At that point, he was able to turn around and drive the correct way, and made it to his destination before running out of fuel.

We've felt kind of like this driver, wondering why we felt good about the job Jeff originally took, when it so quickly proved to be a 'dead end.' Sometimes you start to question yourself or promptings you've received. But everything has worked out and we know that Heavenly Father has been guiding us all along. We are excited about this new opportunity, and know that it probably wouldn't have worked out the way it has had Jeff's job been working out ok. Fortunately, Jeff's current employer was very thoughtful and understanding. He was sad to see Jeff go and told him he'd love to have him back if the new job didn't work out, but he thought Jeff was making a good choice with the new opportunity as well. I'm so glad that he is leaving his job on good terms with everyone.

I have loved seeing Jeff so excited about this new job. It seems like it's going to be a great opportunity that Jeff has dreamed about doing for years. The hospital will basically be setting up a brand new practice and Jeff and the other doctor (who we've met & really enjoy her and her family) will run the practice. Jeff will be able to have nice, new equipment and run the practice the way he'd like, the salary and benefits are much better than his job now, he'll have a lot more vacation time, and best of all they offer a student loan repayment program- basically upon signing the contract, they sent a check to cover half our student loans. (That was entertaining to deposit at the bank) It's a four-year commitment, but at this point we've done so much moving that staying for 4 years in one place sounds like a dream! We're sad to be further away from our families again, but we feel so grateful for this opportunity.