A Silver Lining

Not long after we were married, my husband and I and our two small children moved from our quaint little hometown to another state for a teaching position for my husband. We were quite happy when he got his first job in an attractive college town, and we felt proud that he had been picked for a good job, all things considered. But at the end of the year, budget cuts necessitated a reduction in force, and because he was a first year teacher and had no status, he was let go. Needless to say, we were distraught. We had lived out the year on the edge of poverty (my husband earned $9,900.00 that first year), but looking forward to at least an automatic cost of living wage increase from the school district in the following year, and making the college town our home. I had been taking several classes toward my degree at the local college, so that someday I too could be a teacher. Then came disappointment.

Other than a viola and a French horn, which we played in the local orchestra, we owned nothing but our clothing, toys, a few kitchen items, and an old automobile. We landed with our meager possessions in a God-forsaken tiny town on the Northeastern edge of Montana, a third baby on the way. We tried to see the positive, but it felt bleak and was definitely a step backwards from where we wanted to be.

It turned out to be where He wanted us to be. We met the Lord there.

I’m relating this story not because I would compare my little family’s situation to the tragic situation of the Katrina evacuees in any way other than I do know what it’s like to be the working poor, of which many of the evacuees are, and I do know what it’s like to be unexpectedly uprooted and living somewhere you did not have your heart set on. I am praying for the evacuees who have ended up here in my home state . So far I believe we have a thousand of them and I’ve heard their grateful speeches on television. They are glad they ended up somewhere dry.

I am praying that if they didn’t know the Lord before they got here, that they will meet Him in Arizona. I am praying that their lives will take a turn toward something better than they ever expected, just like mine did. I am praying that they find the life they were meant to lead.

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