Today I resigned from my job

That's not actually as dramatic a thing as it may sound.

When I moved to Melbourne to commence my training as a ministerial candidate, I took 12 months leave without pay from my job in Hobart, with the undertaking that I would indicate to my boss in December whether I would be returning or resigning at the end of the 12 months' leave.

Some people may say this indicates a lack of faith in my calling (after all, if I was so definite, why didn't I just resign outright, rather than keeping this 'safety net'?) I guess it was part of my cautious upbringing to want to keep my options open (or more to the point, demonstrate to my parents that I was doing this), but also a recognition that even after the rigorous discernment process I had been through to get to the point of being accepted as a candidate, we still might have gotten it wrong, and theological college in Melbourne might not be the right thing for me.

However you want to look at it, my status (as far as my workplace has been concerned) this year has been that of an employee, on extended leave. However, I received a call from my boss the other day, saying that the person who had been employed for the 12mth period of my leave had resigned, and so she was keen to suss out where I was at regarding my plans for next year, in the hope that if I wasn't planning to return to work, she could advertise the position as a more long-term option than just 5 months.

Despite the very logical and understandable circumstances, it was still a bit weird to get a phone call from my boss, effectively asking me to resign.

However, because after my time here so far, I am certain that I will be here in Melbourne for the duration, and won't be going back to work in Hobart, I was happy to be flexible and offer my resignation -of course, after negotiating a 'no disadvantage' clause relating to my payouts and entitlements upon resignation (BB, my union official mate, would be proud! :-)

So, after nearly 8 years working for that organisation, I am now officially no longer employed there. Another milestone in my life....