Big Bang

The Big Bang has arrived! No, it's not the theory of how the universe began. It's the long awaited arrival of the official cut over where my former company releases their client portfolio to my new company. And that means all of the applications and systems we used at the old will now be used at the new. Everything I've been doing since about February last year has come down to this moment. The last 15 and half months of work is about to be realized for what it is. And I'm excited!

I first received the news at the end of January. But I didn't write about it until February 1st. I had to process the news, as you can imagine. As I wrote in that first journal entry about it, my first response to the news was that I thanked God for being my provider. The uncertainty of what was going to happen with my job didn't shake me. I was already well grounded on the hope that God always provides all that I need when I need it. I had to look to Him for all of the guidance for unanswered questions such news brought.

Some of those questions were about how this impacted my colleagues. Not everyone has the experience I've had with God. So, I felt as though many of them were likely far more worried than I was. I was able to focus on praying for them and spent a lot less time concerned about how this was impacting me. I praise God for that! My biggest concern at the time was that I thought I would be spending the final years of my career with that company...LOL Yet, that rug was just pulled out from under me...HAHAHA I did experience some grieving as a result. And I'd say I still am a little. Thankfully, this new company isn't so bad and I'm happy with them. Plus, I got to keep my boss...hehehe I really like him! He's likely the best boss I've ever had, actually.

I got the official word that I'd finally be moving to the new company on May 28th. It was just a month before the employees moved over on July 1st...LOL Talking about waiting until the last minute...LOL Again, I wasn't all that worried about it. I knew God was my provider. But the unanswered questions are what kept rolling around in my mind. Having that answer, finally, was welcome news.

Back when the announcement first came through in January, I decided to cancel most of my plans for the year. The uncertainty isn't a wave I like to surf on...hehehe But I later decided to make some plans to travel after all. My first big trip was planned for California on the first week of July. Finally getting word that I'd be with the new company on July 1st was a bit of a shock in relation to my planned trip...LOL But I kept my plans and went to California anyway...hehehe That was an amazing trip that I'll never forget. I was back home the day that my computer access was switched, though. They decided to wait until after the Independence Day holiday to do that...hehehe I'm glad all of the timing worked out. God's timing is always perfect.

The rest of the year, and up until today, was all about getting the systems up and going at the new company. Today, they shut it all down at the old company. Tonight, all of the files and databases are being transferred over. Early tomorrow morning, I get to test out that everything was successfully moved in the systems I'm responsible for. Once I validate that, I'll give the go-ahead for the business stakeholders to go in a test their systems to validate all is well from their perspective. Assuming all is well, tomorrow afternoon we'll know if it was a success. And I believe the official declaration of success will be tomorrow night or Sunday.

There is a back out plan ready to go if things don't go well. That begins Sunday, I think. But if all is well, Monday morning is when everything is live for all the employees to access everything from the new company. I'm not very stressed about much of this. I think the heaviest part of this will be Monday through Wednesday next week. All the prep and testing could miss those few edge cases that real users will encounter. And we'll deal with each one of those as they happen.

I recall writing a bit about unanswered questions and the uncertainty those bring. So, I don't mean to sound like this past year or so has been smooth sailing. Although I was confident in God's plan for all of this, I still had my moments of wondering how it was all going to work out. I even contemplated changing employment and entertained the idea of applying for jobs like an opportunity I was presented at Disney. Upon praying for such opportunities, the answer was always to wait. And waiting isn't easy. I'm glad I did wait, though. God worked it all out. Even in my desire to know and understand what was going on, God knew and understood the good work He was doing. It wasn't easy riding that wave of uncertainty at times...hehehe

I'm grateful God provided the Bible devotionals, studies, and reading plans I've been working through all this time. It helped guide me and gave my a firm foundation to stand on through it all. When I say God's timing is perfect, I'm not using hyperbole. I'm being quite literal. To add to that, I'd say it also complete. I always have just what I need, just when I need it, for just the very reason I need it. And that reason is to do the Will of God. Praise God!

As for the name Big Bang. That's the code name they've been calling this at work. I wonder what God's code name was for the project of creating the entire universe? Hopefully my next entry will include the announcement that this weekend was a success...hehehe