My Last 4 Weeks

Exactly one month ago, I was packing up the items on my desk because the company I worked for was having to close its doors. I was helping load up office furniture and silently growing more nervous while pasting a smile on my face to say ‘it’s all ok’. I was nervous, naturally, like anyone else would have been. Going from two paychecks to one is a big, big change. Through the time of knowing I was going to be laid off and it happening I spent time with God and one thing never changed… in a strange twist from what reality would tell me to feel… I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Here we were, 7 months after my daughter had been born. Earlier, we had been given a year’s supply of formula and around 900 diapers (the diapers were a mix of planning ahead on our part and being given large boxes full of diapers). Those numbers are not exaggerated one bit. Fast forward to the end of March 2013 and God knew what was going to happen and made sure Kait was taken care of.

I began putting job applications in. Within a short time, somewhere between 40-60 applications were submitted. An exact number is not available because after #25, you start losing count. Not a single, solitary, response. And yet, still, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Some would say, instead of tithing in the days leading up to being laid off, and then especially after being laid off, you shouldn’t tithe. I have been told God would rather me save and prepare for the future; however, I disagree. First, I believe personally, we cannot afford NOT to tithe. This money is God’s to begin with. I refuse to be selfish. I also believe you tithe FIRST, not after all the bills are paid. What are we saying when we give after it is all paid? “God, I trust you to provide and I give you my leftovers.” This is not how we should treat God. He gave His flesh – His son. We can give paper called money. Every time we gave our offering, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. (And doing exactly what I needed to be doing.)

Shane had prompted me about possibly needing to sell my jeep. Oh, how it made me sick to think about. My jeep was my baby! I put the thought in the back of my head and agreed with God, should He tell me to sell it, I would. Well, one week ago it happen. He told me to sell it and I was heart-broken. And yet, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Understand something: when I type ‘I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be’… I don’t mean everything felt great and life was happy. Life was not happy, I hated the situations I was in, I felt like my life had been flipped upside down and I had not the first clue where I would land or how we would get through it all. But I knew this is where I was supposed to be and what that did/does is let me know I’m where GOD wants me to be. You see, we have to go through steps in a certain order to get where we are going. God wanted to “promote” me in so many ways but He could not do so if I had stayed at my previous job and in my previous vehicle.

Now, let me share the favor I have seen. When let go, my severance package was just enough to pay the small amount left on the jeep that was owed. When the Lord prompted me that I needed to sell it, (this was Friday afternoon around 4 pm) I went and washed it and cleaned it out. I told God, (verbatim) “if you want me to sell this, I need you to sell it quick while I am willing.” This is how much I really didn’t want to sell it, lol. It was sold by Saturday (as in the very next day) by 4 pm! Paying it off, allowed me to sell the jeep to a private buyer for cash in hand. My jeep was an 05 with 120,000 miles on it. After all is said and done I am now in a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with only 45,000 miles on it and much bigger interior wise for my family to grow into. And without having to put anything down. Shane was able to get rid of his car and also get into a better and nicer vehicle through this process. And here is the craziest part… not a single dollar amount spent in our adjusted budget changed. The budget we had set when I found out I was laid off is the same budget we go by after all of this.

My jeep got 14/18 mpg. The sonata gets 34/38 mpg. This is important because I am in the works to receive a job through a friend of my husband. Literally, the job opened up, they called, I sent my resume and it’s now in the works. The job is in Atlanta – which I would have needed a car that got better mpg! Imagine that, I did 🙂

Really, I could go on and on about what GOD has done for me in these last few weeks. I started to question “why all the favor” and what did I do to get it. I really only have one answer for this: humility. God has taken me through a whirlwind of learning humility in many different scenarios. All in all, it’s probably been about a year of it. The morning I asked this question to God, I opened up my bible app (YouVersion is a great one!) and read my ‘verse of the day’. And this is the answer He gave:

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” – I Peter 5:5.

I am still in awe of what has transpired in the last few weeks and where it goes from here. The lesson I have learned is no matter where you are, as long as you know it’s where you are supposed to be – no matter how dark, dreary and dim it might seem, you will be blessed and taken care of. God feeds every bird, every earthworm and every tree on this planet every single day. They don’t hoard for the next day. Our NEEDS will always be met if you follow HIM. But FAVOR, I have learned, comes when you go above and beyond. Even if you don’t get it right, if you skip a day of prayer, forget to read that day, maybe you totally forget to talk to Him all day long!, but when your heart is in the right place… oh my. Get ready to be blessed.