Step of Faith

April 3, 2016

With a duffle bag of clothes in the passenger seat and a mattress stuffed in the back of my Ford explorer I said goodbye to Sue, Natalie, and Monica. Three friends from the apartment building I had met only a few months earlier while living in the Chicago metro area, as a group we would hang out on the apartment stoop when we all got home from work. The next day would be my first day at a new job. The job switch came suddenly, so with little time to find a place to live, I contacted a friend from undergrad still living in Lafayette, IN that had some room in his apartment for me to live for a few weeks. I had loved living in a bustling metropolitan area. I was happy to escape the rural small town areas that I had grown up in. Yet here I was moving right back to what I had left only seven months earlier. The irony did not allude me. 

I was starting a new job at Braunability located in Winamac IN. To borrow from one of Christy’s blog posts from last year, (see here) this move back to the Lafayette area was nothing more than God moving a duck around to form that row we all enjoy looking down. A lot of things would come from this move. One of the greatest being a reconnection with the Apostolic Christian Church here in West Lafayette and the things that came from that. Typing this post is a direct result of that duck being moved into the row. 

December 20, 2024

The loud “clack, clack, clack” sound of the turnstile hits a bit differently when you are walking through it for the last time. Prior to this day I didn't think much of the clacking sound the turnstile made. I always knew the next day I would once again swipe my badge, watch the red X turn to a green arrow, and I would pass through the turnstile. After today though, I knew swiping my badge would no longer change that red X to a green arrow. 

I had known for a while that this day would eventually come. Throughout the past year, we had slowly been eating away at my accrued PTO. However with our upcoming four week long missionary training at MTI in Colorado, I had finally reached the point where PTO would be unable to cover the gap. This left me with a couple of options. Option 1. Opting to not attend training. Technically an option, but wasn’t really considered because this is our future after all. Option 2. Trust that God has a plan for us, and that part of that plan means the time has come to resign my position at Braun to move into a full time focus on missions. So option 2 it was. I signed the paperwork, worked to hand off my remaining projects, packed up the few remaining personal items I had, and on December 20th I walked through the turnstiles knowing I wouldn't be returning. 

God knows what lies ahead, and he is preparing Christy and I for it. Just as starting my job at Braun and moving back here to Indiana was a duck getting moved into that row. I’m certain that my resignation is just another one of those ducks. 

Cheers,

Jake