How God Guided Me to a Job I Loved
Reading time: 6 minutes
After I stopped being a graphic designer, I struggled to find a job that I liked and that made me happy. But after praying to God for a long time, I found an occupation that eventually turned into a hobby of mine.
From Graphic Design to a New Beginning
From 2012 to 2018, I work as a freelance graphic designer for a US company called Topcoder. At that time, graphic design is a new and developing profession. There is a lot of work and very few people capable of doing it well.
I participate in graphic design competitions, and I am very happy with my job. I work for myself from home on projects I choose, and everything is very well organized. I manage to earn little but enough money to make a living.
But at some point, everything changes. Because I work on too many projects at once and have conflicts with many people, I experience burnout.
Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress. I feel tired all the time, become easily irritated, find it difficult to concentrate, and lose my motivation.
It is hard for me to continue with graphic design. Not only that, but there are also many new workers, making it harder to win prize money in competitions. I even get banned from Topcoder for using copyrighted content. I do this because I do not have enough time to create my own content, and I have planned to replace it in the final round of the competition.
So, the happy days of being a graphic designer are over, and I have to look for a new job.
Praying for a New Direction
Because of the burnout, I decide to look for a job that does not involve working on a computer. I try several places and go to many interviews, but I cannot find a job that I can do and enjoy.
I become very nervous and afraid that I will not be able to find a job. I have only learned graphic design, and it is very difficult for me to do another type of work. I do not know what to do, so I start praying very hard to God for guidance, just as He has guided me into graphic design in 2012.
One day, the employment office tells me to ask for a job at the local factory Caproni, which is only 15 minutes away from my flat on foot.
I ask to work as some kind of quality control supervisor, but I cannot understand the technical drawings of the elements they show me. I become afraid and decide to ask about working in gardening, which is another job they offer, although it is intended for people without higher education.
My mother advises me to insist on getting that position and explain that I cannot find another job because of my burnout and my lack of skills outside graphic design. I do so, and they hire me.
My Difficult First Impression
My first impressions of the work are not good. We are a group of five people—two men and three women—and we have a female supervisor, a nice, polite, educated woman with a lot of experience.
But the work is very different from what I am used to doing on the computer. We gather leaves, trim bushes and grass, and do other gardening work. It seems very stupid and exhausting to me.
One of my coworkers is a Roma man who behaves aggressively, and I do not like his behavior. On top of that, I develop terrible back pain.
After the first week, I want to quit. But there is a clause in the contract stating that if I want to quit, I have to pay two salaries. And thank God it is so, so that I don’t quit. I become very sad, but I have no other choice but to stay.
My supervisor calmly advises me to stay, explaining that I will get used to the job. Some of my coworkers, as well as coworkers from another group doing similar work, give me the same advice. I am very happy for their support.
Learning to Enjoy My New Work
There is a diversity of ethnic groups at work—Roma, most of whom are friendly and whose free spirit brings me joy, as well as Turks and Bulgarians, most of whom are also friendly. We share the same problems, and I receive advice from them.
After two months at work, I start feeling very good about my job. Because most of my coworkers are friendly and my supervisor treats me well, I feel comfortable and motivated.
I notice that there are many advantages to working as a gardener compared with working on a computer. The work is close to physical exercise, which is something I like. It is also excellent for my burnout because it reduces mental stress and calms my nerves.
Trimming grass makes me feel good. Other activities, such as gathering leaves and working in the apple and cherry gardens, are also enjoyable once I get used to them.
At some point, I even cannot wait for the weekend to pass so that I can go back to work.
I especially like the mornings when, before work, our supervisor gives us wisdom and advice about life. She is a very intelligent and polite woman.
During work, we joke around with some of our coworkers, and the work does not feel so heavy. What seems like a very bad thing at the beginning now feels like a blessing, and I am very thankful to God. Without Him, I probably would never have been able to find a job that suits me.
There are so many places where people are exploited and treated badly.
Of course, there are moments when the work is very difficult or when there are quarrels with coworkers, but these moments are small compared with all the good things.
With Some of the Coworkers – our Group is on the Right From the Man in Orange
Working at the Factory Hotel near Shipka
With a Hedgehog I Found in the Factory
Trimming Apple Trees
With Some of my Female Coworkers
Gardening Becomes a Hobby
Gardening has become a hobby of mine. I sometimes help my father with the garden at our village.
After eight years of working as a gardener at the factory, I get fired. There is a crisis, and the company has to fire 30% of its workers. I am one of them.
I look at the situation positively and think that maybe it is time to change jobs for good. I believe God has prepared something better for me, just as He did with my first job as a graphic designer and then with my work as a gardener.
Because I lacked any work skills except graphic design, if it had not been for God, I surely would not have been able to find a job that I liked and where I felt so good. Thank you, God, for blessing me with such a nice and happy time at work.