Tracy
sat at the dining room table, peering at the mound of bills in front of her. It
was the most dreaded time of the month bill-paying time. Was it her, or
was the stack in front of her growing before her eyes? It seemed that no matter
how hard she tried, she could never get everything paid these days.
The
hospital laid her off four months ago and Jim's construction jobs started
dwindling soon after. He had to start traveling to get any work at all. To top
it off, the twins had been sick with a cold for two weeks, adding to the
already mounting doctor bills! She felt the weight of it all coming down upon
her.
"Lord,"
she began as she picked up her checkbook, "I thank you for what you have
blessed us with. Please help me to be able to get the most important things
paid this month."
After
an hour of "robbing Peter to pay Paul", Tracy placed the stamp on the
last envelope and placed them all in a neat stack on the corner of the desk.
"Well,
there you go." She then looked at the stack of unpaid bills. "Maybe I
can get to you next month."
Tracy then made her way to the kitchen to prepare a meager dinner
of chili and hot dogs for her family.
******
Later
that night, Tracy tucked the twins in bed and walked down the hallway toward
her bedroom. The weight of all her troubles hung around her like a steel blanket.
She
walked to her bedside and knelt down.
"Dear
Lord, I don't know what to do. I feel so overwhelmed. I know You will work
things out for our family. I know You have great plans for us and I need to be
patient. Please, help me with that, Lord. Help me to turn all the worry over to
You. In Jesus' name, amen."
Tracy
climbed in bed and willed sleep to overtake her, putting an end to this long
and tiring day.
******
Three
days later she was fixing the twins breakfast when the phone rang.
"Hello."
Tracy expected it to be the usual bill collector.
"Tracy
Lester?"
"Yes."
"Ms.
Lester, my name is Margie Stone and I am the Director of Nursing at the new
nursing home in town. Mrs. Winston, your former supervisor, gave me your
information. She explained that you were one of the unfortunate in the recent
layoffs at Mercy General."
"Yes,
ma'am." Tracy wondered where this was going. Her heart sped up with
anticipation.
"Well,
we are looking for someone to head up our acute care wing and Mrs. Winston
feels that you would be perfect for the position. Would you be
interested?"
"Yes,
I would be!" Tracy fought to contain her excitement. "You should know
up front that I am the mother of twin three year olds and my husband is doing a
lot of traveling with his job. It may be difficult for me to pull weekend or
night shifts."
Tracy knew
from experience that this information was usually a deal breaker.
"No
problem! This would be a weekday shift, a straight forty hour week. Can we set up a time to meet?"
"An
interview? That would be wonderful!" Tracy couldn't believe what was
happening.
"No,
Mrs. Lester, Mrs. Winston's opinion of you is all I need to give you a chance.
You have the job, if you want it."
"Oh,
my! You have no idea what this means to my family and me!"
"I
look forward to working with you. Is it possible for you to come in this
afternoon, say around three? And please, bring the twins."
"I
don't know if that would be such a great idea, Ms. Stone."
Bring
the twins. . . Really?
"It
would give you a chance to see how they like the daycare center we have here.
Employees get a wonderful discount."
This
was too much!
"Well,
alright then. The twins and I will see you at three."
"Great!
I will be looking for you."
Tracy
hung up the phone and hit her knees right there in the middle of the kitchen
floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"God,
you are truly amazing! You have shown me once again, that there is always a
bright and shining light at the end of every dark tunnel. Thank you!"
Article
Source: http://www.faithwriters.com <a href="http://www.faithwriters.com">CHRISTIAN WRITER</a>
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