Day Three: Learning to be a computer nerd…

One more day… one more story about ME! Well… it’s more like one more story about how a merciful God has shown me His power. Today we are exploring the way the hand of God has led me to the present in my professional life. It still amazes me how one decision led to another, and yet all of those decisions have worked together to turn me into who I am.

I don’t know how it happened, but it turned out that East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN had one of the best Digital Media programs in the country. I really don’t remember when I decided that was the program I wanted to be a part of, but for some reason I had this tug to head in that direction. It is basically a rule that whenever anyone enters the DIGM program they must have overinflated expectations of how they are going to do 3D animation and work for Pixar. I learned very quickly that I desired more to stay near to home, have a life, and actually get a job. I found that my passions were actually to do video and web design.

I looked quite attractive driving
 this beast around

After placing most of my study in these areas, I graduated from ETSU and found a job… as a delivery driver for Office Depot. While I continued looking for a “real” job I wondered why it was I was there. It turns out this was a great job for me at that time because it taught me how to function as a “grown up” and get my work done. It also showed me that I needed to rely on God and not my own plans. He had me at Office Depot until a specific job was ready for me.

This is the student activities page
that I got to design

While they didn’t realize they designed the job just for me, I was the first person ever hired into the position of Web Developer back at ETSU. When I had graduated I had hoped to some day be able to come back to work at the university, God actually wanted me back right away. One of the best benefits of working for the state is that they will pay for graduate level courses. This is what has allowed me to begin studying at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, seeking my M.Div. degree in Worship studies. This is something I could never have planned. God gave me a desire to enter a field that would eventually pay for education in the other field I am passionate about! Examining the path that has brought me to this point is a constant reminder that He knows best, and I do not.

Question of the Day: What has God done in your life to place you where you are?