There will come a day when I will be settled in a comfortable job, with a comfortable home, married to a comfortable wife, playing with my comfortable children, but in order to achieve comfort I need to spend an uncomfortable time pursuing it. Comprendo?

If you recall, I did a post a couple of weeks ago on the hectic application process with the Oakland Fire Department. Just a quick recap: The OFD was taking the first 1,000 applications on December  1^st, 2007, but what ended up happening, come 8am on the 1^st, was that they started picking people “at random” from the mob lined up at the entrance points. Needless to say, I was not one of the chosen. Seeing the err of their ways, and hoping to avoid the almost certain lawsuits, the OFD opened up the application process again to everyone that was there on the 1^st. Refusing to pass up this golden opportunity, my buddy Kelly and I made the long trip back down to the big city.

Surprisingly enough, this time around there weren’t large crowds of people hoping for a chance just to turn in their applications. Upon our immediate arrival, a firefighter checked our paperwork to make sure we had everything…

Where’s the line?!...

There it is. Not very long at all…

It took a total of five minutes for me to complete the process. A little better than the thirteen hours I spent down there the last time with nothing to show for it. Now for the next step: A multiple choice test on Saturday. I would appreciate any prayer that you have to offer, that God would keep me alert and focused, and ultimately giving all glory to Him through this process.

When at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.