Every summer feels like a fresh start. Like three months filled with new opportunities. I felt the same. I applied for summer jobs as soon as I got home, and I waited for potential employers to call. And waited. And waited. And waited.

I started to panic as the weeks went by--I needed a job, but I needed it badly and I needed it right away. I started to apply for more and more jobs, my standards got lower and I started to get desperate. I wanted 'relevant' experience. I didn't want to spend my summer flipping burgers like my friends. But I quickly realized that my relevant experience wasn't calling me back. I applied to probably 20 help wanted ads, many in restaurants. I struggled with feelings of rejection and inadequacy because I wasn't being hired or even interviewed.

According to signs and fliers and current employees, these businesses were hiring--they just weren't hiring me. And finally, after almost a month of job searching, I got two jobs--on the same day--in two different restaurants. And I said to myself, "Oh boy. I am about to learn a lesson." I'd prayed for a job and for God to instill patience in me, and to just help me out. I decided that I would try to do both restaurant jobs, since they were both part-time. And I'm not going to lie, it's not easy. Having two 'part-time' jobs has not been an easy transition for someone who went from zero jobs to two. And then there is the struggle of the actual work environments themselves. It's so hard to try and be the light of Jesus in places where you feel like 'Jesus freaks' would be looked at out of the corner of the eyes and whispered about in the break rooms.

But I have to say something. I am so blessed. This summer I have been tested. I am being tested. Every day I am challenged, frustrated, and the enemy seeks to destroy my joy and confidence in every way. But the best thing is, I am at peace. Yes, I have momentary frustration, but the Lord has provided me with inner tranquility in knowing that these are just trials. They are tests of my faith, and I am passing. I feel like I've grown so much spiritually since I've started working two jobs. I am still growing, I am definitely a work in progress. I want this joy and peace that I am feeling on the inside to more clearly translate to the outside. So, to the person that's frustrated, that's sad, that feels beat down: God is working everything for His and your good. Working two jobs in different restaurants in something I never would have chosen to do in my summer. You might not be where you would want to be in your life right now. But the important thing to remember is that God is in control. You might not always be able to control what happens to you, but you can control your response to it. Choose the Godly response!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11