Tacoma Fire

Just so you all know, I am taking the test for the City of Tacoma Fire Department this Tuesday morning. Me and about 1500 other people will be crammed into the Tacoma Dome exhibition hall taking a test. I heard that they may hire as many as 15 people from this batch so the odds may still not be good, but they are better than normal.

I got the study guide for the test and every question on the test will be from the study guide, so it will pay to study. There are 5 sections to the study guide, so 5 sections to the test; Fire Chemistry, Tools & Equipment, Homeland Security, Emergency Medical Technician and Standard Operating Procedures. Some of the material is out of date, but the test is not necessarily about firefighting knowledge... it is more about how well I can absorb and study the material and show that on a test. I am pretty excited.

Is this the big thing God has just around the corner for me? I don't know, but it would be cool. I have a feeling that there is more in store for me soon than just a job. This is the kind of application process that I would be foolish to put all my hopes in, so I applied for 5 different jobs at Tacoma General. All would meet my needs, but some would be cooler than others. I am also enrolled in the EMT class this summer at TCC so that I can potentially work in the ER again.

So, the dilemma I have, and it is not a big one, is the EMT class this summer. Because of the nature of the class and the time commitment involved, I won't be able to be staff for the Aberdeen Go Camp and be a part of their outreach to Montana. I will also have to arrange class time to miss for the Go Camp PSCC is doing this summer... All of this is doable, it is just that I would love to focus on doing fun things like Go Camps and outreach all summer, instead of taking classes again in order to get good employment. So the dilemma I have is me wanting to put all my hope in a job with TFD or at the TG in the least, so that I can bow out of the EMT class and go to Montana. This would not be wise, and thank goodness I have submitted myself under authority and I allow them to tell me things. Mark told me that I will be a lot happier after the EMT class because I put the time in and am working at a great job for me.

I will also get a chance to meet and hang out with some cool people this summer in a class like this. Most people in Emergency Services have a very specific mentality, sometimes very interesting. My story with this mentality goes hand in hand with my testimony. I was convinced that I could handle anything, I had seen things that no normal human being should experience and I was still relatively sane. I learned to trust in my own ability and began to see the world as a place where I was solely responsible for making it happen for me in my life. If things didn't go my way, I got frustrated, mad and usually hurt people around me. The typical way for me to deal with emotion involved burying it so deep within me that no one would ever see it.

I am so glad that Jesus freed me from this mentality. The healthiest thing I ever did was to allow my heart to start feeling again. Yes, there is pain and trouble, but the overwhelming joy and love from Jesus Himself far outweighs any of this. Working again in this field will be hard, I will have to learn new ways of processing emotions instead of relying on my own strength and burying them.

Jesus has a plan and until I hear otherwise from the Holy Spirit and the men I am submitted to, I am looking forward to testing with TFD, getting my EMT back and potentially working in the Hospital again.