This Is What You Prayed For

I've had way too many cups of coffee and am transcribing a sentencing hearing that is five million hours long.

I want to complain because my back hurts, and I'm tired, and I don't understand why a hearing has to be five million hours long (or why the judge insists on blowing his nose directly into my ear, but he seems like the kind, grandfatherly type, so I'm letting it slide).

This is one of those moments where God gently whispers, "This is what you prayed for."

And it is.  I'm warm (although to be fair, I'm wearing my bathrobe over my clothes and covered in a blanket because my husband is tinkering with the A/C in an effort to cool down his office. I'm also sitting against my heating pad because I'm officially I-don't-care-years-old), I'm dry, I'm fed, and most importantly, I'm caffeinated (worryingly so).

God has led me down an interesting journey of transcription. He answered the prayer in my heart – "What is a career where I could use my writing, editing, and my ability to decipher voices (I have this uncanny ability of naming the actor who does the voiceover in any given commercial. It's kind of creepy at this point)?" – and he led me to transcription (through ChatGPT of all places!).

And He's been using this journey to sanctify me even further. I've learned tons, gotten my certificate from my local community college in transcription, been steadily working, and even passed my national certification test (even though they're making me retake it for a glitch on their end...which I imagine God is using to teach me perseverance and determination and that punching my fist into a wall instead would hurt...very badly).

So, I suppose this is my way of throwing up a little prayer of gratitude even in the midst of silent suffering (I'm sure my husband would smirk at the "silent" part) and reminding myself that this truly is what I prayed for.