“Christa, you need to clock in now!” My boss exclaimed with a look of
impatience on her face. I was walking into work feeling overjoyed as I just had
a wonderful weekend filled with spending time with my friends and family. I was
working the late shift and had an enjoyable night’s sleep. My boss looked a
little stressed and it concerned me. She told me that there was an emergency
meeting and that we all needed to attend. I walked in and everyone had pens and
paper ready. I was a little apprehensive about what was going on but I took my
seat at the front and waited for the meeting to start. Our HR representative
then explained that 4 people had been laid off from my department that day and
then tried to reassure us that the rest of us were safe from the cuts. I
resisted the temptation to look around to see who was gone. I immediately
became concerned about my position because he said I was safe but my question
was for how long. He continued to explain something about re-organizing the
team structure and told us that the company was financially sound but due to the
decrease in…. I didn’t hear the rest as I was still shocked by the news. Then
it was over with, a 10 minute meeting that changed the whole outlook of my day.
Four of my co-workers without any word of warning had been let go. Twelve
people lost their jobs that day. It could‘ve been me just as easily as it was
them. What would I do? Fear gripped my heart and I thought of the stack of
bills I had incurred. I wouldn’t be able to survive without any income. Then in
a flash I made the decision to praise God. I thanked Him for sparing my job and
thanked Him for His many blessings this weekend. I decided to place my trust in
Him and His promise. I have a verse on my desk from Psalms that states “I have
been young and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his
seed begging bread.” I remembered the saying “I don’t know what the future
holds but I know Who holds the future.” In my mind, my future is to be
determined but in God’s mind it’s all planned out. I originally started this
blog to say how wonderful of a life God has given me and now I definitely
realize it. I was being to get a little unconcerned about my friends, my job,
and my family. I was taking them for granted instead of thanking God for
granting me these gifts. It brought me out of the fairytale that everything
would remain the same and into the reality that everything could be gone in
mere seconds.
By the time this blog post goes up it will be one week until my second SNC concert, 6 days
until my friend Maranda comes to visit, and 6 days after the girl’s movie night
I hosted at my house. As I sit here looking at 4 front row tickets (no, I’m not
bragging…ok I’m bragging), I realize I am blessed. Three other girls paid almost
$100 (including tickets, gas, and food) to make a 6-hour round trip journey to
Toledo. Granted they are not going just to be with me but it makes me feel
blessed that they want to experience this with me. Another friend is coming
down in a few weeks just to hang out with me. I’ve never had that happen
before. I’ve always been the one to get up and go to wherever I needed to be
but she’s making a special trip down to Ohio just to see me. I am humbled.
Later last week, we had a girl’s only movie night at my house. I am honored to
have friends that want to hang around me. These are friends that encourage me
and help me. They are the ones that can go up to a rack of clothing and pick
out a random shirt and say Christa would like that. 99.99% of the time they are
correct. It’s amazing to know that they know my style and want to know what I
think or want to know what I like.
I don’t talk about my family much. In fact I haven’t really mentioned them except the fact I have brothers. Well, consider this your introduction to my family. I have two brothers: one older and one younger. My parents are still around and are still married to each other (30 years this May). My family is my biggest support network. They are the ones who are not afraid to correct me or tell me how to fix something. I take high regard on what my family thinks of me and I know that they are there to help me through the rough times. I can be unpredictable at times but they don’t seem to mind. We have our fights and at times we might seem like we hate each other but when it comes down to it we love each other like not one else. I love my family!
Some people may be interested in what I do for a living. I work for a
non-profit credit counseling service that helps people with their credit card
debt. Non-profit meaning the business is non-profit…me, I am for-profit. Yes, I
do get paid money for my work and no, I don’t volunteer. Bills don’t pay
themselves, you know. I basically work with creditors in my areas. I won’t bore
you with the details so you can all breathe that sigh of relief. My job is
unique in the fact that most of my benefits are paid for and I have very good
work hours. My job can be unpredictable (hmm…who does that sound like?) and
there have been times where I wished I had a different job altogether. I have
prayed about it and God has stated that right here is where I need to be for
right now. I will listen to what He has to say for there was a time when I
didn’t listen. It was the most miserable 2 years of my life. Don’t ever stop
listening to God.
I am blessed in the fact that I have a loving family, caring friends,
and a paying job. I am blessed in the fact that almost 400 people have read my
blog in the past 3 months without me twisting their arm. Thank you for your
readership (is that even a word?). You are quite an awesome group. Quiet, but
awesome. In the words of Porky Pig “(Random stuttering) That’s all folks!!!”
Until next time,
Be happy being single
Always Remember to Sing in the Rain
Christa
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