The Phone Call That Changed It All

It was around the first of May when we got the call, and I remember it like it was yesterday. Sarah had gone in for her end of the year meeting with her soccer coach at Westmont, knowing that she would either be continuing with the team next year, or that she would be let go.  When I heard the sobs on the other end of the phone, I knew it was the latter of those options. This news left her questioning all the work she had put into this team over the past year, her being at that school for the next year, questioning whether she should stay in the Kinesiology field as her major and what the next step in life would be for her. As parents we tried to comfort her the best we could, being so far away, and let her know that everything would be all right and that God ultimately had a plan for her through all of this.

That summer was a summer of change for Sarah, not only a change of moving back home and having to register for classes at the local community college the following fall, but a change of not playing college soccer, not going back to her life guarding job that she had had for the past three years, and a change from the normal routine she normally encountered over the summer. We tried our best to encouraged her to get out there, try new things, look for new jobs, and to move on past this moment in life. Though it was difficult and painful for her at first, she was able to set out and accomplish these things.

I remember Sarah coming home one day with a lengthy list of businesses that she was trying to apply for, her folder filled to the brim with completed job applications to turn into different businesses around town, and her patiently waiting for a response from a few of the managers she had spoken with. Finally, she got her first call back from a company for an interview. I asked her questions about the particular position and what she would be doing, but she did not seem to know the exact details. Being the protective mother that I am I was very wary of letting my daughter go off to an interview that she did not know much about, even with her being 19 years old she was still my little girl; but I trusted her. I let her borrow my best blouse for her interview and saw her off. My last words to her out the door were: “Don’t make any decisions today on the position. Let us think about what all they have to offer and then go from there.” Her interview lasted at least 2 hours and when she came home, she was bubbling with an excitement I had only seen on her face a few times throughout her 19 years. "I got the job,” she proclaimed as she ran inside the house, "and I accepted their offer!" I was so excited for her, but had she not listened to a word I said? She was now able to tell me all about this new company she would be working for: Vector Marketing. The company was a type of sales company that sold Cutco Cutlery.