“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

This past week, I finally got a job. I did not tell anyone besides my family that I was pursuing one. And by one, I mean exactly ONE. What job? Chipotle.

I know, I know. If you ever heard me talk about my history of working there in high school, you have heard me say “I promise that you will never see me in the food industry again.” But here I am. Two days down. Roughly 17 hours charted, and two nights of coming back to my dorm at nearly 1 am.

I have applied to jobs this semester prior to getting this one. Mainly just to see if there was any chance someone would be super flexible with their hours due to my chaotic schedule, but if they got back to me, between anxiety in getting rejected after telling them my availability and knowing I will have to quit in a little over a month and a half, I never responded back to them. I know that probably doesn’t look good to employers but it’s what happened.

This was the routine until about a month ago. It wasn’t until then that I started praying circles. I have Morningside church to thank for this amazing book I started reading called circle maker by Mark Batterson. Here I learned the value of asking God for EVERYTHING, big or small, and most of all, God-glorifying. I am planning on writing a blog once I finish the book to talk about the power of praying circles and explaining exactly what that means, but until then, bare with me.

So there I was one day, realizing I am extremely low on money and the prices of everything is going crazy high for some reason. I knew I vowed not to get a job so that I could focus on school and this blog, but I believe that season of unemployment was coming to its end, as I no longer found peace in the place I was at.

Before I even looked at indeed again, I wrote a list of what I was going to do with the money I earned as well as reminders that regardless of how much I make, it should never go before God. I did this because if you know me, I have a terrible addiction to shopping. It’s like the cute clothes just jumps off the shelf, into a bag, and my money disappears. And before I know it, my wallet is on life-support as it tries to fathom only having a few dollars left in it. (haha. I thought that was kinda funny so I hope someone relates to this addiction too.)

After I made this list, I prayed for God to lead me to the job that would allow me to glorify Him as well as have the flexibility I need for school and blogging. And as I took a quick scroll through indeed, there it was. “Chipotle – team member”. Normally I wouldn’t hesitate to scroll by it, but this time it stuck out like a sore thumb. I stared at the job listing and remembered the high flexibility, opportunity to transfer to the one back home during the summer, and the experience I already had which would make it easy to start racking in cash. Although my body cried for me to keep scrolling as it recalled the terrible pain it was in after standing for so many hours and spilling hot beans on myself all the time, my heart longed for no other job.

Long story short, I applied. Three weeks passed and no word. During those weeks, I prayed and prayed and prayed. Each time, drawing a circle from my knees to my toes as I knelt before God. Ironically, a few of the jobs I applied for before I started praying, got back to me. They kept emailing me, offering to pay more too, but I declined because there was no peace in them. All I remember saying was “thank you God, but I don’t believe that is the job you have for me”.

Then one day, I decided to take that circle a little further. I took my car all the way to the Chipotle building I was praying to get a job at, and I circled it. I am not gonna lie, it was a little awkward, but I believe God sees our dedication in our prayers.

The very next day, I received a call from them and got the job.

CRAZY right?! I know. Our God is too good. But this blog is not meant to be a happily ever after story. I apologize for the length, but we are just getting started.

So fast forward to today. Friday, March 18th, 2022. Last night was rough. I didn’t leave Chipotle until 12:30am. My back was aching, my stomach was growling, and my clothes was covered in sour cream, guacamole, mop water, and sweet tea. It was not my cutest look, but it was what my poor car had to take me back to my dorm in. Although I was tired, for some miraculous reason I was happy.

In the last two days of working, I have gotten countless compliments on my smile and bubbly personality (and my cute necklace from Israel 😉 but that’s besides the point). Mind you, the last one I received was not by a customer who walked in right when my shift started, but by the guy in the kitchen who saw me struggling to wash the lemonade container at 12:15am. For some reason that one made me realize how good our God is.

I have worked harder and longer in these two days than any other shift I did in high school, yet my joy was too abundant to be overcome by my pain and exhaustion. And that was not just the feeling I had on the inside, but God let me realize that others could see it in the slight smile I had as I carried away the 3 huge trash bags that could fit 5 of me inside or picked up the half eaten bowls that some…people whom God loves, oh so very much…left outside on the tables 3 hours ago.

On my ride home and the few moments of thinking I did before I knocked out in my dorm, I realized that by me closing the store, I alleviated this pain from the older woman who taught me how to do all of this. I was able to make the guy in the kitchen question what made me remain filled with joy after a hard day. And I was able to experience the humility a servant of the Lord should have. I prayed for this job. I had peace in none other than this one.

Even though I am aching from the inside out, reminding myself “this is where God led me. This is what I prayed for”, gave me the energy to push on with far less aggravation than I used to have at this job in high school. Rather than seeking the things I could make reasonable complaints about, God revealed to me the ways I can glorify Him in every hour of my shift. After all, isn’t that what I prayed for? A God-glorifying job?

So as I sit here in the Starbucks lobby, an hour and a half before I begin my next shift, I write to you with a hope to bring nothing but encouragement and advice. I pray that you pray the dangerous prayers. The ones where you say “yes, God” before you know exactly where He is going to lead you. I pray you dig deep to find the joy in the circumstance you are in. If you are living in an answered prayer like I am, but it is not as easy as you thought, I pray you let God fill you with strength as you fill others with joy. Follow where His peace leads. For if you have God with you, you have all you need.

As you begin to live in the way God desires, you will realize just how good our God is and how nothing, not even a container of hot pinto beans spilling all over you, can ruin the joy He longs to fill you with. Answered prayers are not always going to be a breeze, but they will always be God centered and in that truth, I pray you can find the hope to trust the process of His answer to your cry. My dear friend seeking God’s plan for your life, do not grow weary, believe me when I say there is always more joy to find when you are led by the One who is Joy Himself.