So close

The craziest thing happened today. Levi ran into the Norman fire chief for the THIRD time at the gym (first time since he found out he didn't get hired). Naturally, they struck up a conversation about Levi's interview and, come to find out, the department hired 15 people and Levi was number 16 on the list. NO. JOKE. The worst part is, they originally planned to hire 17 people, but because of the economy they had to cut two.

Now, to me (and likely you too) it seems terrible of the chief to point out to Levi that he just barely missed the cut. However, Levi explained that the chief prefaced his comment with the fact that he was trying to be encouraging. And the chief went on to tell Levi that they're planning to hire another 25 people next year for a second new station they're building. That's good news. What's better is that Levi said the chief seemed like he really wanted to hire Levi because he kept encouraging him to reapply next year.

The chief was really impressed with Levi and told him that NO ONE ever makes it to the final interview on the first try like Levi had. When Levi asked what he could do to move himself up higher on the list next time, the chief said to to do what he did this last time. The other candidates were just more polished (from multiple times through the process).

It's encouraging to finally get some good news (though we wish Levi would have just gotten on the department this time!). Levi really is a good candidate for the fire service, it's just a matter of waiting on God's timing.