Entering the Desert

After some time, this would be another soul-searching post, related to where I am at the moment.

It's always good to plan, but still nothing is certain in this world. I had planned things carefully, from starting my thesis earlier to getting a job offer half a year before graduation, coupled with some traveling around the summer. Everything was good, or so it seemed.

And then the inevitable came. The financial crisis ransacked world economy, leading to global recession. Projects are frozen, and my job offer was withdrawn, three weeks before starting date. On my side, I could not get the work permit on time due to the recent changes in the immigration system. So there was nothing that I could do except to search for another job.

I started off with loads of optimism. After all, if God allows good things to be taken from you, he would have better things on offer, right? Well, I still put my hopes on that, but my strength were getting sapped as the days gone by. Like in the desert.

These past few weeks came as a roller coaster experience. I would get elated on interview prospects and downcast on rejections. However, I started to realise something. That this situation might be one of the better things on offer.

Certainly it is not a convenient path, but it allows character building. It is a time when my real characters and foundations are being exposed and tested. It is a time when I could really know God, because when things go well, I tend to forget about him. And so, even still in the desert, I slowly regained my strength.