(Katelynn's 5th Grade Graduation. May 2009)
God really does work all things together. If you don't believe that, perhaps this will persuade you.
It was about this time last year that I began to struggle balancing my time between school, work, church stuff, and time with friends. I stretched myself so thin that I became physically sick, had daily emotional melt downs, and failed several assignments. (All of which, are very unlike me.) I was driving from Birmingham back to Auburn after being a leader for Delta Flight. Delta Flight is a youth weekend at church where you go nonstop with little to no sleep. I was exhausted in every since of the word. I hit a breaking point and finally realized something had to give. I usually don't pray this way, but this is what I said to the Lord, "If I am supposed to quit my job, show me. Show me what else I am supposed to do. Show me Lord!"
That very night, I was waiting on a classmate to meet me so that we could work on a project. As I waited, I had a very interesting Skype chat with a friend from home. Here is part of our conversation:
[2/15/2009 7:58:59 PM] ginna says: are you there?
[2/15/2009 8:00:09 PM] Josh & Rachel says: yes, how are you??
[2/15/2009 8:01:34 PM] Josh & Rachel says: did you have a good weekend?
[2/15/2009 8:02:07 PM] Josh & Rachel says: i was actually going to email or call you...i have a question for you.
[2/15/2009 8:02:13 PM] ginna says: i am doing well! i am sllllllllllleeeepy.
[2/15/2009 8:02:17 PM] ginna says: what is it?
[2/15/2009 8:02:56 PM] ginna says: and the weekend was really good.
[2/15/2009 8:05:50 PM] Josh & Rachel says: my mom has a friend who now lives in auburn w/ his wife and small kids...she has had cancer and now has a new brain tumor...anyway, they are looking for someone, either young and responsible or even older/retired to help out w/ some errands, etc. I am not sure of all that is needed.
[2/15/2009 8:06:17 PM] Josh & Rachel says: so, my mom asked if i knew of anyone to pass on a name to for them to hire to help them out.
[2/15/2009 8:06:34 PM] ginna says: wow.
[2/15/2009 8:07:46 PM] ginna says: well, i was actually just talking to jesus about the job i have right now. i have worked at a coffee shop for a really long time and i am to a point in school that i am struggling to work and keep up with all that i have to do for school.
[2/15/2009 8:07:59 PM] ginna says: do you have any idea what the time frame would be?
[2/15/2009 8:08:38 PM] ginna says: if it was flexible, then i think i probably could do it.
[2/15/2009 8:08:43 PM] Josh & Rachel says: no, but i could get their # and you could just call and chat w/ them. from what i know of them, they are pretty cool people.
[2/15/2009 8:09:14 PM] Josh & Rachel says: at least call them and see if you could help at all. ??
Rachel couldn't get her mom on the phone that night, but she called me the next day. She asked if she could give my number to her mother (who lives in Indiana, mind you). Of course I said that was fine. She also told me that part of the job would be getting their little girl to and from school. The more I thought about the time frame, the more certain I was that it wouldn't work out. The issues were: I had to be at an elementary school by 7:50 on Tuesday mornings. I had an 8:00 class on Thursdays, and a 3:00 class twice a week.
Since school starts at 8 and ends at 3, there is no way it would work out. Not to mention, I LOVED my job at the coffee shop and the woman I worked for.
When Keith called a few days later, I had already made up my mind that it just wasn't going to work. However, I listened as Keith gave me a run down of what they needed. The main problem they had, was getting Katelynn to and from school.
As it turned out... Katelynn attended the very school I had to be at by 7:50 on Tuesday mornings. She had to be off at school around 7:15 and and picked up around 2:15.
I could not have scheduled a more perfect window of time. When I heard that, my heart started beating in my throat. Then I couldn't help myself from word vomitting. I told Keith all about my emotional break down and how I had been praying about what to do. After I told him all of that, I was certain he thought I was a nut job. I did not know one thing about him. For all I knew, he could have been an athiest and there I was talking to him about what I had prayed for. I remember saying, "I'm not sure why I just decided to tell you that."
I guess he didn't think I was THAT crazy. He decided we would work on scheduling a time to meet. They didn't need help for a few months, so I had plenty of time to talk it over with my boss at the coffee shop. That also meant, I had plenty of time to mull over it all, and doubt that it was from the Lord. (As if it wasn't as clear as a neon sign.)
Anywho... several weeks passed. I was still living a very chaotic life, filled with failed assigments and emotional breakdowns. As I cried to my mother over the phone, she very bluntly told me to quit my job. I was still holding onto it though... afterall, coffee is wonderfully addictive. The next day I went to work. My boss, Trish, asked me if I was getting enough hours. Her very simple question was all it took to turn me into a puddle. I didn't even answer her, I just started crying. It was the ugly cry too; the kind that makes your nose run and your face turn all red. I was a mess. I don't think Trish had ever seen me like that and I imagine it caught her off guard. She took me back to the kitchen and said, "Tell me what you need, short of quitting." I told her about failing my assignments and how my mom told me to quit, even though I didn't want to quit. She gave me a big hug, and even cried with me a little. Then we decided to cut my shifts down to only one shift a week and see how that worked out. (When I started the job, I was working 4 shifts a week. Then I moved down to 3, then down to 2...)
It wasn't but a few days later that I got a call from Teresa. I was actually sitting at the coffee shop doing homework when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I almost didn't answer it. However, at the last minute I decided to answer and walk outside. When she told me who she was, I remember being in awe that I was on the phone with someone who had just gone through radiation and brain surgery. I'm not sure why that was so amazing to me. I guess the fact that she sounded so normal. Anyway, we scheduled to meet at Starbuck's the following Saturday evening. If you know anything about working in the coffee business, you know that Starbuck's is the opposing team. Looking back, what symbolism there is in that. I loved my job at the coffee shop. The Lord used it to mold me and teach me so much. Going to meet Keith, Teresa, and Katelynn was my first step in letting go of something I held so dear.
That next Saturday, I got off work and drove straight to Starbuck's to meet the family for the first time. We sat at a table outside and talked for quite a while. I told them about school and my prospective Journeyman plans. They seemed genuinely interested. They weren't athiest afterall! I say that jokingly, because they are quite the opposite. Both Teresa and Keith are Jesus following believers. Keith works in Georgia, but they chose there home in Auburn based on the church they wanted to plug into. And Katelynn, who was 11 at the time, had recently been baptized. She told me all about it. We got along like peas and carrots (Jenny...). It was a sure deal, so we started making plans. I got in the car to go home and felt the strangest, best feeling. I have never been so sure of anything in all my life. The way God so perfectly wove our lives together is nothing short of amazing. I was a student in Auburn, but knew Rachel from Birmingham, who is the daughter of a woman from Indiana, who knows a family that had recently moved to Auburn.
As all good stories end: The rest is history.
What happened with my job at the coffee shop you ask? I put in my 1 month notice. I went back to the shop that night to work on some lesson plans. I didn't go looking for Trish, but she just so happened to be there. I told her all about meeting that precious family, and how I would be quiting come the end of March. She told me she knew it was coming, and had already been working on finding my replacement. When my last day rolled around at the end of March, it was pretty heart wrenching. At the same time though, I had the greatest since of peace. Trish walked me out as I was leaving. I cried, but she gave me encouragement and affirmation. She told me to take all the effort and time I put in at the coffee shop, and put it into the life of that very precious little girl.
Here I am, almost a year later, and that very precious little girl just so happens to be sleeping in the bed right next to me. A lot has happened in her life over the past year... which is what my next post is going to be about. However, that will just have to wait for another time. Also, don't tell Katelynn I referred to her as little. She might beat me up or something. ;)
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