Big Changes for The Robinson's!

I want to share some very exciting news with you guys!!! But first, a little back-story.

Mr. Robinson and I met waiting tables at a Ruby Tuesday.  We dated briefly and were soon engaged.  Mr. R had recently graduated college and had been looking for a grown-up job in his field.  He kept applying for different jobs and looking for places who were hiring, and couldn't find anything.  We started getting nervous because we would be married soon!  Neither of us had a very good job...it was scary.  Finally, he heard back from one company.  It was a finance and loan company.  They wanted to hire him, he accepted the job.  We didn't really ask any questions.  He was excited.  The word "salary" was a magical, musical tune to our ears {waiters in SC make $2.17 an hour, folks.  Learn to tip or learn to stay at home}.  So my soon-to-be hubby accepted a job because it was his only real option for supporting our little family.

It didn't take long for him to realize how much he hated his job.  It broke my heart because he came home miserable every day.  He was having to go out to people's homes and try and collect payment for their past-due accounts.  One of his coworkers has had a gun pulled on him before.   He's been looking for a new job for a while.  It's hard to find a new day job when you already work a regular 40-hour-week day job.  He met with several different people to talk about jobs, he updated his resume, and it just felt like he was trying so hard and not getting anywhere.  A few opportunities opened up, but to me, they didn't seem right.  I tried to be encouraging to my husband....after all, that's part of my job as his wife.... but I also tried to remind him that just because he was ready to jump ship doesn't mean he has to jump onto the first ship that comes along.  It was hard on both of us and we struggled..

So we took it to God and started praying.

We prayed together and separately.

We talked the new-job topic to death.  His current job offers us amazing benefits, and we argued over benefits a lot.  We were both exhausted.  He even asked me once if I wanted him to be miserable. {Which I don't, of course!}  But maybe my fear-of-change was stopping me from getting on board with another job.  A new job could mean that we'd have to move, which mean I'd probably have to give up my job.  With my job, I'm next in line to be VP of a company.  It was just a lot on us, you know?  There were big decisions to be made and I wanted both of us to be 100% positive that we made the best decision out there.

If you've ever stood in front of several doors and had to pick the best one..knowing that this decision would affect the rest of your life...you know how stressful it can be.

via

Eventually, God closed all of the doors except one.  Behind this particular door is a 100% commission based job.  There is no starting salary or base pay.  We've been hesitant...
We had dinner at a cute little local Mexican restaurant with Johnny, the regional manager.  He was really cool.   We bonded over our love for guacamole dip and Mexico.  We asked lots and lots of questions.  We asked all of the questions we should have asked before Mr. R took the job he has now. 

After dinner, Johnny told us to talk & pray about it.  He told Mr. R that he wanted to hire him and would be calling him on Monday to see if we had any questions or if we had made a decision.  So, Mr. R and I got in the car and came home.  We both felt at complete peace...the job seemed like a great opportunity, even if it would be a little risky at first.  Even though we both felt at peace, we wanted to pray and make sure that the peace we felt was from God and from ourselves.

via


Saturday, Mr. R called Johnny and accepted the job.  This morning he went and signed the contract.  This coming Thursday through next Wednesday, we will both be off of work!  :)  {Because...with his current job, he gets two week paid vacation, and I get two weeks paid vacation from my current job.  Once he leaves his current job, his paid vacation time is gone and mine is useless.  Since we will be living off of my income at first, there is a good chance he will be able to take off one week for a mission trip, but that's it.  Which renders my paid vacation time useless unless I want to sit at home by myself.  SO, we are taking a week off from work, with pay, and when he returns from vacation he will put in his two week notice."

We are very excited!  God is so good..this should be a scary time.  We will have one steady paycheck from here on out.  How much money he makes will depend greatly on how hard he works.  I know he can do it, though.  I believe in that man more than I believe in myself most days.  I know he will work hard, I know that God is on our side, and I know that we are both at complete peace about this big change.  It's risky, but we are YOUNG.  We are newlyweds.  We h ave no kids, we have no mortgage, we could sacrifice a million things before having to go into poverty...NOW is the time for us to take a risk.  My husband hates his job and it makes him miserable and exhausted.  Maybe this job will, too.  BUT at least we'll know we tried.  At least we will know of two jobs that aren't for him, rather than sticking with a job he hates from fear of hating something else.  Everything about this feels right.  We aren't worried a bit.

This was the first big decision we've made since we've been married that will really change the course of our life together.  It felt so adult.  You know?  I love the little {or in this case, big} things that remind me that we are married.  It makes mundane tasks or scary decisions a little extra fun!  Exciting times!

Keep us in your prayers, y'all!  =)  And for those of you who knew of his job situation and offered to pray on our behalf, thank you for doing so.  We greatly appreciate it ... God answered our prayer!