The Deep End

A few posts ago, as I shared the passing of my graduation, I promised to reveal some other exciting news. I announced this at my Graduation Party a few weeks back, and then quite honestly, forgot to announce here on the blog. As of today, I have officially completed my first week as a real estate paralegal!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen of Blog Land. I landed a job in my field. 3 days after graduation. No one has been more surprised at this than me. With the economy and job markets being as they are, I expected it to take at least 6 months to a year to find something in my field.

It happened like this.

I received a call from my contact at the Louisville Bar Association on the Monday before Graduation. He had just received a call from a mid-sized firm in the East End and was wondering if I was interested. There were two positions open, a receptionist position and a paralegal position. I scheduled the interview for the next day. The day of Graduation.

 In the world of law, and even more in the world of real estate, time really is money. The interview lasted for all of about 10 minutes. I really didn't think much of it. My lack of experience was clear to the attorney I had interviewed with and I wasn't expecting a call back. If I did receive a call back, I was preparing myself mentally for it to be for the receptionist position.

Wednesday I heard nothing back, but Thursday evening I received a call from the attorney himself asking me to come in for a 2nd interview the next morning. I was amazed. This interview lasted for about an hour as he talked at length about what my responsibilities would be, described the fast paced environment of the business, took me on a tour of the office, introduced me to the 2 paralegal supervisors as well as the VP of the company. When we returned to his office and sat down, he leaned back in his plush chair and offered me the job of real estate paralegal.

I accepted. These are the wonderful works of God and they are marvelous in my eyes!

So this last week has been nerve-wracking, overwhelming, and wonderful as I was thrust into the world of real estate. My nickname around the office this week quickly became "The Sponge" as I sat behind my supervisor listened, wrote notes furiously, did hands on practice, and asked numerous questions. At noon yesterday, the VP, Russ, stopped by and asked me to see him. When I sat down in his office he asked me quickly how things were coming along and how I was doing with everything. When I explained that all was well, that it was a lot of info to take in, but that I was slowly catching on....he replied with, "Good. Next week we'll get you settled into your own desk and throw you into the deep end".

Oh Lawd. LOL.

This time next week I may not be so enthusiastic about my quick success in finding this job. Or rather, on having this job fall into my lap. Ha.

Anywho. So that's the story on the job situation. God has blessed me tremendously and continues to do so. All the glory goes to Him. It's not because of anything that I've done, but it is His Grace and I know that He blesses me for His Name's Sake.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. -I Samuel 12:22

Blog Land, consider yourself updated on the Wonderland Adventures. I covet your prayers as I navigate my way through this new season in my life!

13 Days & The Waiting Room

Happy May Blog Land!

It's only 9 something in the morning and it's already a balmy 63 degrees! The windows are open in our apartment and I can literally hear the birds chirping. The chow wagon is in full gear down on the river front, and signs on the interstate are pointing the way to Churchill Downs. It's starting to look a lot like Derby time and feel a lot like summer. Love it!

Since it's May 1st that means.....only 13 more days until I graduate! It will be here before I realize it. This is my last normal week of classes with next week being Finals week. I can honestly say I have no worries about them.

My interview with the LBA went really well and the guy I met with has already sent my resume to 2 different law firms. Unfortunately, they are for receptionist positions, not paralegal positions. However, since I'm lacking in experience, I have to be willing to take what is available to get my foot in the door. Beggars can't be choosers.

In other Wonderland news...

Have you ever noticed that some of the most difficult times in your life are not when things are going wrong, but when you're waiting for something to happen? It's like you're in this huge waiting room and the only person who can move you through the room is God. And there is no rushing Him.

I have been waiting on something for a very long time. I've fought with myself, fought with God, bargained with Him, gotten angry, tried to fix and redeem situations, worn myself out trying to fix them, and finally surrendered to God's timing. I've gone through this same scenario not once, not twice, but probably at least 100 times. And I'm going through it again. The hardest thing when you've received a promise from God is waiting for it happen. And so often we try to "help" Him out by trying to manipulate events and people. Only to be rudely reminded that God absolutely cannot be manipulated.

I think that one of the most difficult things to do is to place God's Will ABOVE my human emotions. In a word...Restraint. Our pastor taught a wonderful lesson about Joseph and the restraint he practiced when his brothers came down to Egypt. In essence, he placed God's Will above his desire to immediately reveal himself to his brothers because they still had a lesson to learn.

Even though God's waiting room is a difficult and often frustrating place to be, I know that when I receive what He has promised it will have been well worth the wait.

Food for thought, eh?

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.         -Ecclesiastes 3:11

20 Days...and Good News

EEEEEK!

I'm SO excited that I just have to write a little blurb about all the good news I received today!

Soooo....

I have an interview with the Louisville Bar Association scheduled for Monday morning! To the great advantage of paralegals in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area, the LBA has a placement service, in which it takes the information of qualified legal professionals, interviews them, and then matches them with a law firm that is looking for someone to fill a certain position. So, even though this interview won't guarantee me a job immediately it's definitely putting me a few steps ahead of the game.

Next...

And this may not seem like a big deal to ya'll...buuuut it was to me. Since I'm lacking in real world experience, many potential employers may be a little hesitant to hire me. As this is the case, many people (myself included) thought it would be beneficial for me to obtain a recommendation from one of my professors. I knew that this was a good idea, but I have been a little scared to ask my Litigation professor for one due to the fact that I feel kind of weird about asking someone to compliment me (LoL) and on top of that, not only is she a professor, but she is also an attorney with an active practice and quite busy.

Well...with the news of my interview and a requirement to provide three professional references, I went ahead and asked for the recommendation. The reply e-mail and the attached recommendation letter absolutely blew me away. I won't go into details, but it was high praise indeed, especially coming from an attorney. It was humbling to see that my hard work had not gone unnoticed and that it might actually aid me in finding a job.

I know that I am only at the beginning of my career journey, but even in little things like this, the LORD is already blessing me!

These are HIS wonderful works and they're marvelous in my eyes!

Good Night BLog Land!