Here it is almost Thanksgiving and I’m sitting in my little hotel room in San Antonio wondering how the next few months will pan out. I never dreamed that I’d be working most of the time out of town, not seeing my family for 6 weeks to 2 months at a time. But alas, here I am.
The music industry is a fickle thing. And asking God to bring “course corrections” to one’s life can bring about daunting changes. Both of these factors – God’s correction and a fickle industry – brought me to the place where I needed to make some radical changes in my income-producing ways.
And so, as most of you know, I started working last November with 2020 Companies as a sales rep in Tampa, FL. Emily was in her senior year at USF, my company’s business was slow, and we needed to make up the loss in revenue some how. So I joined the sales team for Verizon FiOS and made some decent income through the end of the year.
I’ll make this part of the story short – I left Florida on New Year’s Day, flew to Denver in the dead of winter, and worked there for 2 months. In the spring I returned home, enjoyed Emily’s graduation festivities, then went to Durham, NC for 2020 again (this time working for Verizon Strat). After a month, I was back home in Florida. In July I opened the AT&T U-verse market in Chicago (LOVED Chicago!!) and stayed there for a month. Back home. Then on July 29 I was asked to open San Antonio’s U-verse market for AT&T. And that’s where I’ve been ever since.
I’ve been home twice since July. And we enjoyed a family vacation in The Berkshires in Massachusetts with Emily while she was interning at Jacob’s Pillow in August. But it’s been a very busy 6 months and I’m ready to get home. I’m living in an extended-stay hotel “suite” (bed, TV, full kitchen, bath) and getting tired of missing MY house. I flew home 2 weeks ago and drove the car back here so I’d be mobile. I hate depending on others to get around. Having my car here is one small concession that’s making it sort of worth-while.
So, a year later since beginning as a sales rep with 2020, I’m now the General Manager for the San Antonio AT&T U-verse market. The money is decent (I get an override on what my team produces) but the trade-off is that I’m gone from home ALL THE TIME!
I’ve prayed constantly that God would open a door back to ministry for me but nothing has turned up. Last month I was called about a position for which I was being considered at a large church up in Maryland, but I knew God wasn’t calling me to move the family out of Jacksonville. The economic news lately has made me VERY grateful to be gainfully employed. However, in the back of my mind and in my spirit I still hope and pray for an opportunity to move back into ministry.
Yes, this has been an interesting year, to say the least. I’m confident that God has me in the palm of His hands and that He will direct my path and open any doors He wants opened to me. In the meantime, I keep my ears and eyes open for opportunities and try to keep my mind focused, knowing that I must “do all things as unto the Lord.” Even working for 2020 Communications. In San Antonio, TX.
