Not long ago, Rev. Larry Dial encouraged his flock to dare
to tell their stories. He says that doing so is one way of carrying out our
missions as Christians. He also stated that, just perhaps, we might connect
another person who has experienced similar circumstances. So, here goes.
A little more than four years ago, Amy and I had the props
knocked out from under us. She woke up one morning on vacation to discover that
she had lost her job. In the blink of an eye, the majority of our income
disappeared, and all that was left was my retirement check and any cash I
earned from writing.
Our lives were a mess. We fretted and stewed over the entire
situation. Along with that, we plotted what we could do to recover the income
we’d lost. For hours, we sat together and road the tides of anger and worry.
What remained throughout everything was a belief in a higher
being that watched over us. Our jobs were to do all things possible to correct
a negative situation; after that, we had to let things go and trust that that
watchful eye would be with us.
Even though I tried to be of good faith, questions and pure
anger bubbled to the surface. I wondered why things such as this happened,
especially since Amy and I had tried to do those things that we supposed to do.
After much questioning, prayer, and discussion, I accepted that “I wasn’t
driving the bus” in this situation, and I let it go.
Over the last four years, I’ve gone back to work. First, I
moved cars for a rental agency; next I worked moving customer vehicles at a car
dealership; then I substituted in high schools, and now, I am teaching a couple
of English classes at Byington Career and Technical Center.
Amy has worked at temporary jobs. On a couple of occasions,
she was to be hired permanently, but companies pulled the plug on that just as
the temporary periods ended. It appeared that they had no intentions of hiring
anyone on a full time basis. Those disappointments put us back at the starting
blocks and left us, once again, wondering where the help that we believed would
come was.
What we have discovered is that God is with us, regardless
of our situations. No, we have no clues as to why things have occurred as they
have. We have certainly tightened our belts and stopped much of our spending,
but we still are doing all right. Each day, we wake up and wonder what will
happen. The anger is no longer there. We simply have faith in our God and
believe that He will watch over us. The questions linger, but we know that
God’s time is not our time. We must continue to do the best we can and have
faith in someone we can’t see but know is ever-present.
Some might look at Amy and me and shake their heads at what
they perceive is our naivete’. That’s all right. We still have faith that grows
stronger in the face of difficult times. At this special season that celebrates
the coming a savior who will defeat death so that we have life everlasting, our
problems seem small in comparison to what we’ve receive. Yes, I hope we find a
bit more financial stability, but I also know that we must do our best and the
God the rest.
Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope your lives are filled
with love and joy. Most of all, I hope you have or find a faith that passes all
understanding but that brings you peace.
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