It’s never easy starting over, especially when you are forced to. Sometimes, it’s good, and sometimes it’s bad, but in my case, it was necessary. I got pregnant and had to leave my job of over six years and when I called myself starting over, I was fired. I may have been down, but I wasn’t out for the count. I could have easily gotten another job and quick, but I wanted something meaningful. The Lord was doing something with me, and that’s why I refused to just work anywhere, because I knew I was living in purpose.
After I was let go from the job I was so excited to be at, I took a break, but it wasn’t a long one. I always had my eyes on working at a specific place, but for some reason, the good Lord wouldn’t allow me to ask if they were hiring. The organization is so beautiful because they help parents with baby supplies and other needs a parent may have. I had always imagined myself working there, or at least a place like it because I knew I wanted to help those in need. I can remember going there shortly after I was let go and was looking stressed and at hot mess. The organization helps with items from diapers and wipes to car seats and clothing and they were one of the few places I went to receive extra help with my Love Bug. I developed a very good relationship with the director of the establishment, and it was a blessing. Every time I went in there, she and I would sit down and talk and even though she wasn’t a therapist, I would just give her an ear full, and I never felt judged. When I went in for my monthly visit, she instantly asked if I were okay and from there, everything changed. I told her I was fired, I told her I no longer had a car and the car I was driving was Amilyah’s dad’s and I was just over life. It’s funny how God will work things out for the ones that love Him because from there, big doors were about to open, and I bless God for it all.
I can remember being in my room looking up jobs and I got a call and to my surprise it was Mrs. Chandler from the organization I go to. A friend of hers was hiring, and she thought of me. I was so happy at her kind gesture and asked her to send me the information. We stayed on the phone for a while and as she was talking, she mentioned she really wanted me to be a part of her team but there were a few concerns she had. I knew then God has opened a door. Without a second thought I said, “Mrs. Chandler, if you want me a part of your team, I’m all in!” God heard my prayers and who was I to turn such an opportunity down to help those walking in my shoes? Once I said yes, I knew God would take care of the rest. It has been a complete honor to serve and be where I am needed. This isn’t a job or a place where I work to receive a check-this is purpose to me, and it feels good. I am happy where I am, working with her to serve women that has either the same or similar stories as mine is life changing. This is my ministry. I wake up getting ready not for work but for purpose. To put a smile on a mother’s face who may have been worried about buying clothes or diapers is priceless. This is only the beginning for me and being fired…well, as you can see, worked in my favor because it put me exactly where I needed to be.
In life, we all want to be a part of something, we all want to belong to something and for some of us, that never becomes a reality. It never becomes a reality until we find out what it is that’s meant for us to do in life. I became a single mother twice, I made horrible decisions and even dropped the ball here and there, but those things didn’t define me. How I turned my negatives into positives did. Helping not just parents, but single parents shows who I really am. When people counted me out, God counted me in and I’m a work in progress. Finding who you are and what you’re meant to do takes time and just like me, when you least expect it, all the pieces will fall into place.