Blessings abound

This story needs to be remembered because it's a concrete way we can know of God's abundant blessings.  

Christopher is in his second year as an architecture student at UC.  He has entered the phase of his academic journey when he's expected to rotate between classroom and co-op experience.  He took a class in the fall that was intended to kick-start his job search. Unfortunately time after time he ran into issues where either the position that was previously vacant had been filled or the software program he is learning in school doesn't match the one used by the firm.  He went out with a manager of a local architecture firm hoping to get a position but unfortunately the firm wanted someone with experience in their software program so again he was left looking for a position. 

So this was the way of it for several weeks and later months.  I tried to help by introducing the topic of architecture with anyone I encountered.  One afternoon I was on a walk in the county building when I bumped into someone I met at a luncheon several months ago.  She was in the building along with another associate from her employer for a meeting.  Since I suspected they knew or hired architects I once again dutifully brought up the topic of architecture and co-ops.  Her associate said he graduated from the same school as Chris with an architecture degree and discovered through his co-op experience that he wanted to go into construction instead.  He agreed to pass along Christopher's resume so I fulfilled my end of the bargain by connecting the two of them.  This conversation happened in December.    

The weeks continued to pass and even though he was on Christmas Break, Christopher had to continue to try and connect with firms seeking a co-op position by early January.  Low and behold around the week of January 6th, Christopher received an inquiry (I can't recall if it was a phone call or email) from a local architecture firm asking if he'd be available for an interview.  This was completely out of the blue but it turns out the chance encounter with the construction company representatives resulted in this connection.  Chris interviewed and then waited for the committee to make a decision about his qualifications.  The following week he was offered the position and he started working on Monday, January 20th. This opportunity was truly a blessing from above but the blessings didn't stop there. 

Sometime in late December or early January my brother called saying he was thinking about selling his Mazda.  It was on a Friday afternoon when he told me some of the details about the vehicle and what his selling price was.  It was an attractive offer but I didn't have a reason for another vehicle nor extra money laying around to pay for it.  I jotted down the dollar amount from his offer and simply continued to go about my business.  Fast forward a few weeks when I received at home a package from a vendor I worked with 3 years prior when I owned the insurance agency.  Inside the envelope was a check with enough money to pay for a small car.  As it turns out, this package arrived on the day after Annette's Evening of Reflection with Regnum Christi when she agreed to formally join the organization.  So it could not be ignored that she was taking steps to get closer to God and at the same time His generosity flowed abundantly this time in the form of a check that had been previously promised over 30 months ago.  

I say all of that to pre-empt this photo below.  Here, Chris is getting a last minute hug on his way out the door to his first architecture co-op job.  

Even budding architects can use a hug from their mom from time to time.