A lot can change in a year. I recall wanting to write a letter to myself at this time last year in hopes that I could look back a year later and see if or how things had improved. Thing is, I was too frustrated with my circumstances to bring myself to sit down and write about it.
It’s crazy to me how much can happen in a years time. Those who know me know that I’m an eager self starter always ready for the next adventure. My life changed almost over night when I had the opportunity to move to California, now over two years ago.
Since graduating from college almost four years ago there have definitely been some less than pleasant seasons of life. Following graduation I spent 18 months working in a bank and living in a town of 500 people. My focus every day was to somehow get out and I was hoping and praying for an opportunity to dive into the motorsports industry.
After the move I “lived the dream” for a bout a year until I took a nasty tumble and ended up in the hospital. It was a few short months after exiting the hospital that I began yet another painful and frustrating season that I thought would never end. I was unemployed and doing anything I could to make money from odd jobs to hanging Christmas lights with a friend. In the midst of a parts swapping job I found to make a couple bucks I got a call from a rather rude collections agent demanding payment on my medical bills. The kicker was I had explained my situation and set up a payment plan with the company (or so I thought) a couple of weeks prior. He didn’t seem to care and it just added more fuel to the fire. Needless to say, that was a rough day. (However God worked that out because I figured out how to pay for it and it ended up saving several hundred dollars by paying it off.)
Eventually I took to the streets to try and find a job and fortunately the owner of a production company I dropped in on was impressed enough with my get after it mentality that he gave me a job. Other than my truck breaking down and leaving me stranded later that day, things were starting to look up.
About a month down the road I landed another part time job, this time in the marketing department of an insurance office. I’ve never been interested in insurance, either as a career or as a consumer. In fact in my interview the owner of the company said it best, “Insurance is a piece of paper that no one wants but you have to have and you pay way too much money to get it.” That pretty much summed it up but I was thankful for their faith in me and the opportunity to help me in a very difficult time.
I started for them in January and about mid February everything changed. I was finally starting to get ahead and managed to tuck a little bit of money away. I wasn’t “happy” with this season but like my 18 months at the bank, God had a purpose in it.
I don’t know how many people actually know how I came to have the job I currently have but it was nothing short of a divine appointment. The short version is that I was taking photos for an article I had written and the father of the young guy riding the ATV in the photos happened to be the manager of a race team and the General Manager of a large tire and wheel manufacturer.
It was a fun day just hanging out with them and after expressing my interest in working with their company on any level, I reverted to praying and BEGGED God to open a door. My proactive nature had me wanting to put together a proposal and beat down their door with all the reasons they should bring me on board but after some encouragement from my pastor, I decided to wait and let God do the work if He so desired.
Fortunately I only had to wait a week. On a Monday evening I got a call from the GM and he asked me if I could help them get a truck and trailer back east to the opening round of a major racing series. Luckily both my jobs were slow at the time so I left California the next morning and drove three days to August Georgia.
Fast forward to today and it has been one amazing year. God gave me the job I was trying to find way back in 2008 when I attended a Dealer Expo in Indianapolis. I wanted something that would put me at the races on weekends and give me an opportunity to be in and around this industry. Now I’ve got some of the biggest names in ATV racing calling me to negotiate their contracts for the coming season. I am truly blessed beyond what I deserve.
I couldn’t have guessed in a million years that I would ever end up here, especially considering where I was at this time a year ago. But that’s the beauty of time and it’s a constant reminder to me of God’s faithfulness. He will provide. He will never let us down. All He asks is our devotion to Him. I’m working at remaining more devoted to Him even in the midst of confusing or uncertain circumstances.
So since I was too frustrated to write a “where I’m at now” post last year, I’m doing it this year. As it stands today I’m working a great job in an industry I love. I live in the town I’ve been wanting to live in since about 15 years old. I have a beautiful girlfriend who blesses me daily. I’ve been able to start jumping again which has given me back my joy for riding and I’m learning to trust God daily because He knows far better what is good for me than I do.
There, I did it. Lets see what 2012 brings!
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