A year ago this evening, James came home from work and told me that he lost his job. I want to remember this day because it was a pivotal point in our lives. We were worried and scared and the economy was horrible and we didn't know what to expect. A year later, we have so many blessings to be thankful for and so many friends and family helped us in so many ways. We are so grateful for all of you.
A year ago tomorrow morning we found out we were having a healthy baby boy. I will never forget that day. As we drove to the appointment we had to make a stop at Wal-Mart and as we parked, I was still in shock from our loss and wondering how we were going to make things work. We started walking into the store and a young lady a few cars down from us was crying and asked us if she could ask us a question. She told us that her daughters prescription was $20 and she only had $15 and hated to ask if we had five dollars we could spare. Without a thought I grabbed my wallet and pulled out the money (I never have cash) and she started to sob more and couldn't stop thanking us. As we walked into the store, I was overwhelmed with several powerful feelings. One of them was so glad that I had the money in my wallet, another was the thought that everyone has their problems to go through and the other was utter heartbreak for whatever her situation might have been.
As I look back on that experience a year later, I realize how many of you have been that girl with the five dollars in her wallet with no questions asked giving it to a stranger. I am so glad that we have gone through this experience. We aren't out of the woods yet, by any means, but we are still in our home, still eating healthy food and still enjoying our little miracle, Landon every day. I think that as hard as it has been, losing a job and striving to make ends meet is good because it helps put a new perspective on things in this life. It is great to hear talks in church and have a moment or two where you think, "hmmm... I need to be better about spending money frivolously" but to actually live it is a humbling experience.
The funny thing to me is that before we lost the job, we were on a budget and making ends meet. Well, several thousands dollars less a year and we are still making ends meet and doing just fine. It is amazing what is and isn't important when you really think about it.
3 comments:
Great lessons learned and shared. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, it is so true about putting the things that are really important into perspective and I'm glad that you shared that experience with the girl and the $5 bill. Also thanks for the recipes for Christmas, can't wait to try some of them out:)
We love you guys so much!! It's amazing how money can strengthen your testimony so much. When Stephen and I first began dating we were not active in the church. We lived together for a year before getting married and were both active duty making a lot of money... funny thing is that we never had a dime at the end of the month. We look back now and see that our income was over doubled but the money was like water going through a strainer. We have since cut our income WAY in half plus some but since becoming active in the church (and adding tithing into the equation plus higher bills and more mouths to feed) we amazingly have money saved and cotinue to save each month. We know it is through our faithfulness to the Lord that we make it through and have the little extra needed to open our walets as you did when needed. Thanks for sharing this. I remember when it had happened to you and you sharing your experience then. This was a wonderful reminder. Keep your faith high and know that we are here for you guys! : )
Post a Comment