So I know the last entry was super long and I'm sorry. I will try to keep this one shorter.
My family has never had very much money. Part of that is because my parents had a lot of credit card debt in the beginning, part is that my dad does not have a very high paying job, and part is that my family is full of medical issues. I took over paying most of my expenses when I was a sophomore in college. I have always paid my own phone bill and car insurance, and I have been paying my own medical expenses for a couple years.
The entry I just wrote was about how God has healed me from being so sick for so many years. Part of being sick was being unable to work, and when you don't work you don't get paid. So I lost about half of my paychecks (probably more) from the past 4 years because I was unable to make it to work. The company I worked for at the college did not hire me back last fall because I was too big a risk healthwise... they wanted someone dependable. My scholarship money came in below what was expected, so it did not cover all of my rent and utilities like it was supposed to. I spent a month after my surgery searching for work and being unable to find anything to help me pay my bills. I started teaching pre-k at a church two nights a week, which brought in $36 a week. I started nannying twice a week, which brought in $18 a week (until January, when it brought in $36 a week). And I started subbing in shifts at the company, which averaged about $36 a week on the weeks I worked. I was earning around $300 a month. Rent/utilities was $200, my cell phone and car insurance was $75, and then I had to buy gas and groceries. Then I had to change my oil. Then the belt in my car broke. I constantly prayed for more work, even though I was putting in 60+ hours a week between school and work and homework. When my belt went out I started crying because I knew that there was no way I could make ends meet. I should have trusted God because he provided a $500 loan, which covered my car and my rent. After Christmas, things were looking up. I was still putting in long hours, but I was making more money and my scholarship money was higher. But.... things started slipping down again because I still wasn't making enough money. My car was eating up gas going to and from my student teaching and work. I had to replace my glasses because one of the boys I nanny accidentally hit me in the eye and broke them, but I was scraping by. April came around and we were all preparing for graduation. There is a conference put on by the state that allows prospective teachers to meet with principals around the state as a sort of pre-interview meeting. I signed up to go, but I did not have the gas money to make it. So I started praying. I said (and I quote) "God, you have provided so much for me this year. You have healed me and given me work. I have no right to ask any more of you but please... this conference is a wonderful opportunity for a job, and jobs are scarce. I can't afford the gas. I don't know how you can do it, but please provide what I need this week because I would really like to go." And I went to bed. The next day I woke up very discouraged. I was under stress from school and being around so many people all the time (my privacy time was in the shower or in the car... I had no other time to myself). I decided to take advantage of the bridal shower going on downstairs and lock myself in my room for some quiet time. I was quite annoyed when a roommate knocked on the door because I didn't know the bride and didn't feel up to partying anyway, but I answered the door and heard "The neighbor is downstairs. He said he just hit your car with his truck." Uh... what? I flew down the stairs and out the door and... it was true. The neighbor was backing his big old U-haul out of his driveway and managed to back it all the way across the street and smashed into my little Nissan Sentra. Compact car vs. U-haul truck... I think you can imagine who won THAT battle! My first thought was "God.... that's not what I meant. The goal was to make it to the conference, not be stuck here...." I moved the car up into the driveway (no small feat with 9 roommates and a bridal shower) and smelled gas. Which meant I could not drive the car. Now, my gas gauge was dangerously low. I had about $15 in my bank account. But that week, because God allowed my car to be hit, I did not have to pay for gas to get to and from work or school. The insurance company awarded me $100 for being out a car and missing that conference (there was a registration fee for the conference that was non-refundable). And the car was totaled out to $2500 AFTER the buy back. Bottom line? God not only provided transportation for me that week when I had no gas, but He provided me a job WITHOUT that conference, AND He provided me money to cover my expenses for the term. Now is my God a provider or what?
My family has never had very much money. Part of that is because my parents had a lot of credit card debt in the beginning, part is that my dad does not have a very high paying job, and part is that my family is full of medical issues. I took over paying most of my expenses when I was a sophomore in college. I have always paid my own phone bill and car insurance, and I have been paying my own medical expenses for a couple years.
The entry I just wrote was about how God has healed me from being so sick for so many years. Part of being sick was being unable to work, and when you don't work you don't get paid. So I lost about half of my paychecks (probably more) from the past 4 years because I was unable to make it to work. The company I worked for at the college did not hire me back last fall because I was too big a risk healthwise... they wanted someone dependable. My scholarship money came in below what was expected, so it did not cover all of my rent and utilities like it was supposed to. I spent a month after my surgery searching for work and being unable to find anything to help me pay my bills. I started teaching pre-k at a church two nights a week, which brought in $36 a week. I started nannying twice a week, which brought in $18 a week (until January, when it brought in $36 a week). And I started subbing in shifts at the company, which averaged about $36 a week on the weeks I worked. I was earning around $300 a month. Rent/utilities was $200, my cell phone and car insurance was $75, and then I had to buy gas and groceries. Then I had to change my oil. Then the belt in my car broke. I constantly prayed for more work, even though I was putting in 60+ hours a week between school and work and homework. When my belt went out I started crying because I knew that there was no way I could make ends meet. I should have trusted God because he provided a $500 loan, which covered my car and my rent. After Christmas, things were looking up. I was still putting in long hours, but I was making more money and my scholarship money was higher. But.... things started slipping down again because I still wasn't making enough money. My car was eating up gas going to and from my student teaching and work. I had to replace my glasses because one of the boys I nanny accidentally hit me in the eye and broke them, but I was scraping by. April came around and we were all preparing for graduation. There is a conference put on by the state that allows prospective teachers to meet with principals around the state as a sort of pre-interview meeting. I signed up to go, but I did not have the gas money to make it. So I started praying. I said (and I quote) "God, you have provided so much for me this year. You have healed me and given me work. I have no right to ask any more of you but please... this conference is a wonderful opportunity for a job, and jobs are scarce. I can't afford the gas. I don't know how you can do it, but please provide what I need this week because I would really like to go." And I went to bed. The next day I woke up very discouraged. I was under stress from school and being around so many people all the time (my privacy time was in the shower or in the car... I had no other time to myself). I decided to take advantage of the bridal shower going on downstairs and lock myself in my room for some quiet time. I was quite annoyed when a roommate knocked on the door because I didn't know the bride and didn't feel up to partying anyway, but I answered the door and heard "The neighbor is downstairs. He said he just hit your car with his truck." Uh... what? I flew down the stairs and out the door and... it was true. The neighbor was backing his big old U-haul out of his driveway and managed to back it all the way across the street and smashed into my little Nissan Sentra. Compact car vs. U-haul truck... I think you can imagine who won THAT battle! My first thought was "God.... that's not what I meant. The goal was to make it to the conference, not be stuck here...." I moved the car up into the driveway (no small feat with 9 roommates and a bridal shower) and smelled gas. Which meant I could not drive the car. Now, my gas gauge was dangerously low. I had about $15 in my bank account. But that week, because God allowed my car to be hit, I did not have to pay for gas to get to and from work or school. The insurance company awarded me $100 for being out a car and missing that conference (there was a registration fee for the conference that was non-refundable). And the car was totaled out to $2500 AFTER the buy back. Bottom line? God not only provided transportation for me that week when I had no gas, but He provided me a job WITHOUT that conference, AND He provided me money to cover my expenses for the term. Now is my God a provider or what?
