Monday, October 29, 2007

The Best Darn Rock

Since Randy and I have been working in the Young Professionals at our church we find ourselves trying to counsel people on things we don't really know anything about. For instance, being single and 30-something, buying a house on your own, still trying to get out of your parent's house, dating, etc.

One of those things that I just couldn't seem to grasp was the "I-really-thought-this-guy-was-the-one" thing. I mean you either know or you don't. I knew. I knew right away. Even when I didn't know, I knew because I remember praying for somebody like Randy.

About 5 years ago the company Randy had been working at, Macromedia, closed their Texas offices and tried to move everyone to San Francisco. After a good laugh at the thought of moving there, Randy started looking around for another job in the metroplex. Through a friend he found a contracting job with a game company called Ensemble Studios. After two years they had to shut down the department he was working in, so once again Randy was forced to find something else.

To get a job at a game company is like trying to get a job in acting. I mean, an acting job that actually supports you, like movies or TV. Many people want to do it, but only a very few get the chance. So for Randy to even get to spend two years in the gaming industry, at a company with a major title nonetheless, was incredible. But alas, it was not meant to be. His next job would be the one that would really mold him.

Insurance. I know. To go from rock star status at Macromedia to almost seeing the promise land at Ensemble Studios...to insurance software. And thus began the "Dark Ages" at the Varnell house. He did everything but throw himself in the floor and throw a temper tantrum like a 3-yr-old. It was a very trying time for all of us. We couldn't understand why God would make us go backwards.

I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way there was a change. Randy decided that he was going to be the best insurance software tester there ever was. He decided that he was going to be "content in all circumstances" (Proverbs 4:11) . He decided he was going to stick around and figure out what God was trying to teach him.

Not long after his resolution, he was promoted to manager of his team. Things really took a turn, not just at his job, but in his heart and soul and in our family. He became a better Sunday School teacher and better husband and a better dad. He would interview with other companies to try and find a better situation, but nothing would pan out. We'd be a little disappointed at first, but then we'd realize that God's got something better.

Today Randy started his new position at a very successful game company in downtown Dallas. He went from being over 5 employees to 40 in Dallas, LA and Russia.

This past weekend Randy spoke at a singles retreat and one of the sessions was on solitude- about being in the desert. Sometimes God puts us in the desert until all doubt is gone or until we've learned what we've needed to learn in order to move on (Numbers 14).

Looking back over the past three years it's so obvious why everytime Randy had a job interview it wasn't the one. We didn't understand it at the time, but now it makes so much sense. God wasn't finished with us. Randy hadn't learned everything he needed to learn. I never gave up on Randy having his dream job. It was pretty plain to me that God was testing Randy and preparing him for something amazing, but sometimes it's so hard to see the big picture. It's like when you're 8 months pregnant and you think you're going to be pregnant...forever!

I can't remember where it came from, but because I've done so much theatre my mom and I talk about having small roles in the play. We call them "rock" parts- like a children's play where a kid has to dress up like a rock and sit there because the teacher can't think of anything else to do with him. She'd tell me "go be the best darn rock you can be" and then eventually you'll get your starring role.

From one dream job employee to another- get ready for your close-up and standing "O" babe. Love you.

1 comment:

Michael said...

I saw the change first hand during the men's bible studies at my house. I saw how the chosen memory verses changed out outlooks. I thank the Men's Bible Study.