Tuesday, February 28, 2012

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.


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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.

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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!


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13 comments:

Amie said...

It makes a world of difference to be in a field you have interest in compared to one you despise! Last April my husband took a job that is steady pay, but no special over time pay. It was terrifying, and we moved 8 hours into a new place, but it was worth it.
He was so HAPPY. Unfortunately, it's a 6 month there, 6 months here deal, so half the year he is stuck in a warehouse and the other half of the year he's cruising around in the sun in his work Yukon :) He does work very hard, though.

I hope this job works well for your husband and for your lives! Have a nice "vacation" :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats Mr. Robinson! I too accepted a job just today after about 7 months of unemployment. I hope that your new job is everything you hoped it would be! :)

RadiantKristen said...

That's a scary jump to make! Good for both of you though, for agreeing to take this leap of faith. Have a great week off :)

Meg @ Mr.C and Me said...

what good news. change is scary but oh so exciting. i really hope things work out! :) and happy vacationing lol

Karla said...

Aww girly I am soo happy for the both of you, Cheers to this new chapter you guys are about to embark! With God on your side all is possible!!

Amira said...

For the first year and a half of our marriage, my husband and I lived on my measly salary alone while he finished Law School. I know first hand what a struggle it can be, and how absolutely overjoyed I was when he found his first job and we had the relief of a second income. But we made it through, and stronger than ever :-) Congrats to you and your husband! No one wants to be stuck in a job they are miserable with. Having a happy man will make all the difference!

Nobody said...

I am ALWAYS praying for you guys!! If you need anything don't hesitate to call me missy... I am so eager to hear about this new job!

Amber K said...

Congratulations to him! Matt is a salesman by nature too. It's amazing how some people are just good at that. I'll be praying that things transition well for him. And enjoy that week off together!

Holly said...

Congratulations :)
Cheers to new beginnings :)

Val said...

congratulations to him! I'm a firm believer that it's better to take a paycut and not be miserable, than to make more money doing something you hate and dreading going to work every day.

Brooke @ Silver Lining said...

Big changes can be scary, but so exciting! Best of luck with all your adventures, dear!

♥ ♥ Just a Girl in Love w/ a Soldier ♥ ♥ said...

You & the hubbs are in my prayers I know you both will be just fine. Have faith and everything will work its self out. In the mean time ENJOY YOUR VACAY!!!!!!!!!!
And congrats to him on the New Job.

lilmoomoo said...

I am absolutely thinking and praying for you all! And I AM SO EXCITED that you get a vacation with your hubby!!! It's very rare to get a whole week off at the same time! Really, I'm like giddy for you. HAHA
Also, I would just like to say that commission based jobs sometimes get a bad reputation... But, I had a commission based job (with a small hourly base pay) and it did nothing but ENCOURAGE me to get out there and make some sales! It was SO REWARDING to make a sale and then calculate up my commission after.
It's all about keeping your head in the game and being "hungry" for it!

It sounds like you all have prayed about it, and really thought things out! You all are being very responsible, but at the same time realizing that you are young and you can make these big decisions and have some fun out of it!!

long rambling comment.
all I'm trying to say is I SUPPORT Y'ALL! and I'm praying for y'all!