Jobs you can't quit

A few months ago, my hubby and I told our church that we wanted to resign my position as the Early Childhood Ministries Coordinator. But we weren't really sure we wanted to quit (I say we because we work as a team even though I'm the one on staff). We needed the money, honestly, and we loved the job itself. We were committed to the children, and to our church. But the time constraints as well as the continued changes in expectations for our family kept pressuring us more and more, and we were having some difficulties with our work relationships for a while. So after being a little wishy-washy about if and when we truly wanted to quit, we finally put in our resignation for the end of November.

That was over a month ago, and many things have changed...many things have improved. But, though Loren and I are still torn over what we want, we really feel moved to release the reins and take a back seat. So our last day was supposed to be Nov. 30.

Then it was... could we work through Dec. 7...then the 14th...then the end of the year. Loren and I love our work, and the kids we take care of, and we've put an awful lot of time and heart into remodeling the building and redefining what we do with the children. We just can't bear to leave it in limbo while they try to find someone else. And of course, there's the gnawing feeling that we really don't want to leave anyway.

But we really need this change. We'll actually be able to go to church during the 9am service, and lead Praise Park during the 11am service. We are so excited about being able to meet people in the church and having the chance to recruit them as volunteers to pick up the spots that are still not filled. And as volunteers, we will have more options for our level of service. We are tossing around the idea of maybe working the 11am service on the 1st three Sundays of the month and having the 4th off as well as the 5th when they roll around 4 times a year.

Anyway, I guess that's information overload. The point is, there are some jobs you just can't quit. You have to kinda slide away slowly. And that's where we are. No idea how long it's gonna take. No prospects for a replacement. No way we can leave without spending some time walking the new person through it. But there is an added benefit to all this: A little extra money through the holidays is not a bad thing!