Every now and then God intervenes in a way that leaves us breathless, amazed and feeling His love. We get this feeling that He is there right beside us and we feel how much He cares for us. We all yearn to see and feel this love, and it is overwhelming and indescribable. God has made an intervention in Janelle and my life just recently and it has us both so in awe. So I am going to tell you a full story to try and point out how these little interventions turn into one big one.
As you all know I have been in a Law Enforcement Academy that has consumed my life recently and it has taken great sacrifice from Janelle as well as me.
First noticed intervention: when I left Canlis Restaurant I was given a candle for Christmas. These candles were pulled from a box of many(random) and my sticker tag, it happened to say "Ranger-inspiration" it didnt say this on the candles given to the people next to me, I thought that was pretty crazy. I use that candle to connect with God and find strength for this long academy.
Janelle and I found out that I was going to need to apply to many National Parks to find a summer job and the job could take me anywhere in the U.S. Janelle is committed to her residency both by contract and love and she will be there till the end of September. The news that I would probably have to leave after the academy to a different State had both of us worried and stressed. We tried our best to give it to God and put it in His hands. I filled out around 40 applications and with this economy and the competitiveness of the job I was advised to take the first offer I got. My very first application was for the Washington National Parks including the Olympics. It was due the day of my first day of the academy (Dec.29th). Dec. 3oth I was taught how to fill out these applications properly. Well I filled out my application wrong for Washington and was deemed ineligible for a job in the State for all the Law Enforcement jobs. This obviously put Janelle and I in a frustrating and upset mood.
It was hard to think that I was going to be in the academy for 3 and half months and then leve the state for another 5-6 months. Not a great thing for your second year of marriage. As most of you know we didnt get to see each other that much in the first year between my Canlis work hours and her Medical school and boards.
I started getting eligible notices back from parks all over the U.S. I am new to the field so my rating isn't as high as people with prior experiences. So being eligible was good but that didn't come with any job offers. Slowly people in my academy started getting phone calls and job offers. Janelle and my stress levels went up as we prayed, hoped and wished something would come along. It is normal for it to take a while in your first hire but it is also possible not to get a offer.
A Ranger from Olympic National Park suggested I also apply for a Back-Country position in the Olympics. Now this isn't a Law Enforcement position so it doesn't help me gain and earn experience to get a full-time L.E (Law Enforcement) Job. At 34 years old it is important I get off to a quick start in L.E because I need to be hired full-time before I turn 37 or it is impossible to be hired full-time for the government in L.E. I told her I was already deemed ineligible in Wa. and she told me to try again and it wouldn't hurt. I applied because if I didn't get any offers as a L.E Ranger it would be still good to get that job at Olympics, since Janelle and I plan to move to Port Angeles in October. Well I got deemed eligible but didn't get that position either.
About 4 weeks ago my first call came. It was from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. The U.S Park Rangers there checked my references and interviewed me and offered me a job. They said we want to 99.9% offer you the job here. They said the .1% was just that my paperwork for eligibility needed to clear. They both said they looked at my resume and said it shouldn't be a problem and they would call me when it was 100%. 2 weeks ago today they called and said, for some reason you were not deemed eligible. They thought this was strange, as did I. I have been deemed eligible in every region up to that point. It was the first region to say I wasn't. Hmmmmmm
I tried to get it all straightened out but by that Wednesday morning I was told it wouldn't work out and I wouldn't be able to get a job anywhere in that region. I was crushed!! It was my only offer and it was gone, and it is a GREAT park. I went to my friend Sara's to pick up her and Alec to drive to EVOC training (emergency vehicle obstacle course)(FUN STUFF). I was crushed! I turned to some christian music to try and uplift myself. I only had time for one song. The one song that came through a shuffle mix of 520 (1 in 520 chance) songs was called "second chances" by needtobreathe. It was perfect for the moment. I decided I was going to trust God and know it wasn't the right place for me to be. I told Sara and Alec what happened with Black Canyon but I think I kept a pretty good positive attitude. Sara told me that Olympic Park had called her that morning and offered her a job. She had turned it down because she had already accepted a job at Yellowstone. She suggested I give them a call. I reminded her I was deemed ineligible earlier this year when I applied wrong. She told me it wouldn't hurt.
I called. The Ranger who had talked with Sara answered and I said "Hi, my name is Brian Doolittle and I am part of the Park Law Enforcement Academy at Skagit Valley College". Her response was "Brian, we were just talking about you!" I almost fell over. She explained that she knew I had problems with the first application and that might be a hurdle. Then a thought came to me....I was deemed eligible for the Back-Country position and I told her. She said that should work and continued to tell me about the park and the job. She told me to get resume and paperwork and we would see what would happen. REMINDER: this is the same day I lost the Black Canyon Job REMINDER: I haven't been getting calls from other parks. REMINDER: Out of all the parks in the U.S THIS IS THE PARK I WANTED TO WORK FOR!!! I quickly got the paperwork in. Waiting and trying to control hope and emotions (guarding) was hard for both Janelle and I. I think we both aged 10 years!! We trusted God and knew whether we got the job or not our life was already FULL and BLESSED and we would be ok because we had God and each other but of course we really wanted that job spot!
To make my long story end quicker...... On Saturday I was offered an L.E position in the Olympic National Park based out of Kalaloch. It wasn't a miracle it was God and I wanted to share that with all of you. He might not get you to place you are trying to get too but he will guide you to Him and the place you need to be. Trust Him!!!
The two of us and our family as well our so excited. I know that our church has been praying for us and this situation as well as Janelle's parents church. Family and friends have also been praying!
We are overwhelmed with love!!
Thank you all!!
P.S Come see me at the Olympic National Park, I will be the one with the really cool hat!
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