After three days, there isn't much to tell. My job mostly deals with discharge plans and family support for our clients. Since we only just got our first two kids on Monday, there hasn't been much for me to do directly with my job. I do have a lot of research to do about community resources and I have a lot to learn about the clinical aspect of working at CHOC...or the clinical aspect of anything really. I have received a lot of positive support from the people I'm working and consulting with directly saying that I am the perfect person for this job and that I will do well. That is always positive to hear, especially when I am pioneering this particular position and there really isn't anyone to mentor me in to it. I really am excited to be leading the way in this area and I am passionate about what my job will be doing. I think that residential treatment facilities are great for helping kids get the support they need while in residence. But, once the kids leave, there isn't much support for them when they're on their own. My job is to now become that post-discharge support. And to provide their families with support and resources to support them. It is a job that I will be glad to take on and hopefully make this standard protocol in discharge plans. It will take time for all of us to figure out where I fit in, but it's a new program and like anything new, we will need that time to iron it all out.
I am so glad and excited and blessed to have this job opportunity. This prayer request has been answered and for that I am so grateful and I know that God led me in this direction. But lately, my life has felt so out of balance. I have a job, but I'm missing several key components to bring healthy balance to my life. All I have been doing the past month is work. Sure, there were also two weddings in there and visits to friends and time with family, all of which were wonderful. But I don't have a regular church community to be a part of when I'm not working. Or even a friend community in the area. Yes, I have some great friends in the area, but it's tough to find friends who are my age and also in the same season of life as I am. Being almost 32, most of my friends are now married, have babies, or both. And that doesn't mean that we can't be friends of course, but just that it's been tough to find a community of people who still want to go out on a Friday night without having to get a babysitter or check with their significant other. Truthfully, if I had met the right person already, I would maybe rather be in that season of life myself. But I'm just not.
It's probable that finding a good church community will help with me finding a good community of friends who are in the same season of life as myself. But, finding a church where I feel as though I could be a part of their ministry with a community of young and single adults is tough to find. I think this is so sad. There are several good churches in this area. But many of them minister to married couples and families. Where are all the good ministries for people who are in the same season as I am? Just as my life feels unbalanced, this feels unbalanced in the church. If anything, this is an area that churches should be truly reaching out to. Who else has the time, energy, and money to devote to serving their God? Didn't Paul make a point of saying that when you are single, you have more opportunities to serve? And of course, maybe many people my age are just like me. They don't feel like they fit so they don't go to church. I will say that I have found one church with a thriving single adult community and I could participate in their activities more. I have been out with the group, participated in Sunday School, and made one friend that I have gotten together with a few times. But I have a hard time agreeing with some things the pastor says from the pulpit at that church so it's hard to convince myself to stay there just for the community of people my own age.
I don't mean this to be a rant or a long complaint about being single or about not feeling like I fit in any of the churches I've seen so far. All this just continues to perpetuate the feeling of unbalance in my life. I know that God led me home to Connecticut with purpose and a plan. My God would not bring me here just to abandon me. I know one day it will all figure itself out, the same way my job will. But for now, I'm just looking for a little balance.
