What Gives You Life?
According to a 2013 study published in The Atlantic, the average age to marry in the US is 27 for women and 29 for men. The correlated article noted that college-educated women marrying later are likely to have a higher annual income than those that marry earlier. In 2013, studies like this one stuck to me as fact being a new graduate with big plans for herself ā moving to a big city, delving into a marketing career, and making enough money to live independently while still enjoying lifeās little luxuries.
Looking back, I would love to see the look on 22-year-oldās face if I told her that she would meet the man of her dreams at a brewery, reject a dream job with a big LA marketing firm, be married within a couple years, still in San Diego with an engineering based job, and haphazardly fired from that job another three years after that⦠and still be happier than she could ever be because it was exactly where God had placed her.
Now, coming up on the one-year anniversary of being married to an amazing man who has grown alongside me in our walk with the Lord, Iāve learned to be grateful for what I have but to also do everything I do with purpose, and in the name of Jesus.
Colossians 3:17 reads āAnd whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.ā Admittedly, three and a half years ago, I translated this as so: āI will be the career woman Iāve always imagined myself being. In the name of the Lord.ā
It wasnāt until recently I realized doing āwhatever [I] do, whether in word or deed,ā didnāt necessarily mean doing whatever it was I had planned for myself in the name of Jesus. Being as stubborn as a mule, it took Godās will of pulling me away from a busy work life to what seemed like a dead halt. Putting so much of my personal value into my work and title, this loss felt devastating. Immediately I began searching for positions, reaching out to contacts and, one after another, I was turned down ā even from positions that I had in the bag. It was the strangest thing, with every rejection I felt my confidence being scraped away because my personal value was tied so much in my work when it shouldnāt have been.
So, I started busying myself with little hobbies throughout the week and between job searches. Sometimes I thought they were a little useless when it came to getting me a job and, in all reality, they were. But I needed something to pass the time and rest my eyes from a pixelated computer screen. I studied new recipes ā I learned how to fluff an egg, made a meringue, perfected cookies ā studied some helpful home economic lessons, created a spreadsheet to manage our household budgets, started catching up with old friends and family, and picked up painting again. I felt like I was becoming a person that I didnāt know; no work-related traveling, no meetings, no negotiations or team projects. I felt like I was becoming a house wife ā and I was ā but it wasnāt until a couple weeks in that I realized that wasnāt a bad thing at all. I knew I had to start things myself and if anything, this time off allowed me to build discipline and personal growth to find out what I was good at⦠What mattered to me. Knowing how to care for of our tiny apartment to make it a home wasnāt something I was used to doing, but it was such a refreshing, rewarding objective that I enjoyed doing. Looking at a clean apartment with a happy husband at the end of the day gave me something to be proud of.
A few weeks later, my recipes had improved, I started a small art collection that became part of a small art business, and started working alongside my husband as a marketing director for his family company.
At first, the idea of working with Brandon worried me because working side by side with your husband isnāt for everyone, and Iāve been one for categorizing my life ā my husband is my husband at home, my co-worker is my co-worker at work. Itās been about two and a half months now, and I canāt complain! In working together, weāve both learned to lean on each other so well in providing the support and pushing each other in day-to-day activities.
With an understanding of this new intuition ā listening to the Lord and doing things that are life giving in His name ā the two of us are entering a new chapter of our life with a new perspective.
With every day that passes, I remind myself that sometimes trivial looking things mean so much more than they do at first glance. If they calm your heart, give you happiness, and allow God to speak to you, theyāre valuable experiences.














