The Missing Link

God wants us to initiate His actions. Really? Yep, really. Read on.

God spoke to Joshua about crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 1). Not asking God how this will happen Joshua focused on the task at hand and led the priests and people to do exactly what God required. There were no discussions about how this was going to happen; only a statement that this is what we are going to do. Joshua did not question God, he encourage the priest and people. Joshua 3:14-16 tells the rest of the story. The waters of the Jordon River parted when the soles of the priest’s feet touched the water. God facilitated the action but not until Joshua took action first.

God had been speaking to me about retirement for some time now. I may not have been as eager or quick to respond as Joshua did; but I finally agreed with God and on May 15th I set a date.;(You can read about that here - Date Is Set In Jello). I had many questions but I was trusting God to provide answers. On July 9th, I received an email from the coordinator of customized training at Del Mar College. He asked if I would be interested in teaching a year long fundamental electronics course to a group of ATT employees. The modules include Math for Electronics, DC and AC Electronics, Solid State and Digital Fundamentals, Computer and Telecommunications. WOW, that’s interesting. How could I possible teach all of that? You would think a teacher should know something about the subjects they’re teaching.

This 330 hour course is based on my entire working career. At age 19, I joined the Army unsure of what I wanted to do in my life.  After 3 years I completed a year long telecommunication course (very similar to what I will be teaching) and spent the next 6 years in telephone communication maintenance and operations. After the military, I spent 7 years in electronic technical support and completed my college degree. After college, I spent 13 years in software engineering. Then a major shift in careers led me into corporate education where I’ve spent the last 14 years as a professional educator. God has done an amazing thing here. He has qualified me for this teaching assignment by giving me 44 years of training and experience. Pretty cool!

So what is the missing link? Well, the big question on my retirement decision has always been, how can I do this? How can I afford to transition? This adjunct position answers that question. God is good!