And where do all roller coasters end?

That's right! Right back where they started! Ha! Ha! Ok...so here's what's happened in the last five days (has it really ONLY been 5 days?!?). If you read my last post, you know that I thought it was all settled...and yet, still had some suspicion that it wasn't. Well, on Friday, I get a call from April again to set up the interview, which I thought was already set. As we were talking, she asked me a question I didn't expect - "Kara, do you think you'll really be happy being an aide?" April and I have known each other since I moved to Naples nine years ago, so I felt completely comfortable in answering her question honestly. I told her, quite honestly, that I wasn't sure what I wanted...except that I wanted to do God's will - but that at the moment, I had absolutely no idea what that was! After a little more conversation, she said that since I had to interview with Mr. Rider no matter which position I filled, that we would just set up the interview and maybe after talking with Mr. Rider I'd have a better idea of what God wanted me to do. I can't tell you how true that statement turned out to be...oh wait, maybe I can! Ha! Ha!

Over the weekend, David and I had done lots of talking and praying about this decision, and were leaning toward me taking the substitute teacher position, but still had some uncertainties. It would be nice to have the regular schedule the Pre-K3 Aide position would offer - just three halfdays a week. But, I already had 2 events on my calendar in the next couple of weeks that would mean taking those days off (of course they fell on the days I'd be working). I had also been looking forward to attending MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) at my church, which meets on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of every month. There were other concerns, too - which were confirmed during my meeting with Mr. Rider.

When I walked into Mr. Rider's office this morning, he asked me about the Pre-K Aide position - so, I told him pretty much what I'd told April. He shared with me some additional information about the Pre-K Aide position that I didn't know (which turned out to be just the piece of the puzzle I needed to make the right decision) and said that selfishly, he would really like for me to be a substitute teacher because that was his greatest need - but like me, he didn't want to step outside of God's will. He suggested we both pray about it for 24 hours and asked me to call him in the morning to let him know where I felt God was leading me. He also said he was pleased to have me on board! :)

After I left his office, I called David and told him about my meeting. As I was sharing with him about my meeting, it became abundantly clear what I needed to do. Just in case, we decided to pray on it until after lunch (which we met for at Longhorn). After that time of prayer, I realized there really was no need to wait the full 24 hours - that peace I'd been seeking all along finally came. After struggling with the decision for several days, it was finally clear that the position I set out to apply for really was the one that God had for me. My roller coaster has finally come to a complete stop (I think!) and, as all roller coasters do, it ended up right where it began! Whew! What a ride!!!!