New Year, New Job

Have you heard the news?

I have been offered a full-time, year-long residency with the Northeast Georgia Hospital System, and I am pleased to announce that I have accepted that offer! I will begin June 22, 2020.

You probably know that since my graduation in May, I have been working part time at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center as a chaplain intern. And many of my family and friends have heard some of the stories of my time there. I remember being so nervous about working in the hospital and being convinced I would hate it. If you've heard me talk about it, you will know that I've been very pleasantly surprised by how much I've enjoyed it. In fact, you'll likely know that I LOVE it.

I am honored to continue the work I have enjoyed so much as I try to follow where God is calling me. Because of the time requirements, however, I will be resigning from my position as Director of Youth Ministry in June.

This decision is very bittersweet for me. I am excited about further opportunities to grow in chaplaincy at the hospital, but I'm also sad to see my time as Youth Director end. One of the most valuable things I have learned through seminary, CPE, and life experience is that life is messy and that we are capable of feeling many complex emotions at once. I have heard people say that they are happy for me and sad for them. I can assure you that I too am both happy and sad.

This is definitely a leap of faith. I do love the work of chaplaincy in a hospital, but this residency is only for a year. When it ends in June 2021, I have no idea what I'll be doing, where God will be calling me, if I'll even have a job when it's over. It's a little scary, but I am prayerful that God will lead me where I need to be. I hope you'll join me in praying too.

I'll have six more months with our youth group and their families. I plan for this to be a time of great love, filled with holy moments, as we prepare for my transition out of that ministry in June. And it will be a time filled with prayer, as I pray just as fervently as ever for our youth, for their families, and for whoever our new youth director will be.

So let me close with some gratitude. I am grateful to our church family for all of their love and support. I cannot even begin to express the height and depth and width of their love for me. I am grateful to the hospital's pastoral care department for extending me such a wonderful opportunity. I am grateful to my family for their willingness to ride yet another life roller coaster with me. I am grateful to God. Period. The End.

Thank you.