This blog is based on my life's journey as I live it. What I do, where I go, what I think. I'm sure it might not be very interesting to many of you. No problem. I'm not searching for an audience. I just want a place where I can "journal" my journey.
Back in April I made the decision (with my wife's support) to walk down a different career path. I started training and studying to be a loan originator for a mortgage company. At first I was incredibly overwhelmed by new terminology, laws and procedures that I previously knew nothing about. In May I took and passed the Texas State Licensing Exam. Later I took but did not pass the National Licensing Exam. A month later I tried again. Although I improved my score, I still did not achieve the passing score of 75. I continued to study and dig deeper into the mortgage industry. Last Friday I took the National Exam for the third time. After the third attempt you must wait six months to retake if you don't pass. I scored a 74, missing a passing score by 1 question. I was heartbroken. I had never studied so hard for anything. I knew I was ready! At first, I wanted to try to dispute the score. I got 86 out of 115 correct. That calculation comes out to a 74.78%. Unfortunately, the NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry) does not round scores up. Anything under a 75.0 is a failing score. In addition, I couldn't think of a question worth disputing. That was it. There wasn't anything that I could do.
So, my mind started going toward, "What do I do now? What's the plan, God?". We had been praying that if this was right that God would use me in this industry to bless others who don't know Jesus. I don't want to give up, but we believe that there was absolutely no reason for me to not pass that test. The day before I took a practice exam that had 189 difficult questions on it. I only missed 4 questions. Maybe this was God saying that this isn't where He wants me. That's a hard idea to swallow after working so hard for the past few months to learn so much about an industry that I knew absolutely nothing about before (I could barely spell mortgage!).
I try everyday to be open to the Lord's leading and to be grounded in my faith. I try to spend time in the Proverbs each day. This has given me great peace. I know that God has a plan and a path for me to walk down. As I search I will keep my eyes on Jesus; basking in the assurance I have that He loves me, cares for me and knows what is just right for me and my family!
