So it’s not much of a secret, as much as I don’t enjoy talking about the fact, that I have spent about a year now trying to dig myself out of a pretty deep financial hole that I got myself into. It all started when I was going through a rough patch starting in 2015. As my testimony states, I started to make a series of bad decisions that ultimately led to financial strain. When I was participating in this sort of behavior I was spending money like I had it. I bought a brand new 2015 car, I went to concerts, bought tons of alcohol, maxed out all my credit cards, and then still didn’t know when to stop. I was struggling to pay my bills on time before I even lost my nanny job back in June 2016.
When the family I was nannying for decided that the mom was going to be a stay at home mom, and then eventually moved out of state for the dad’s job, I started working as a waitress at a pretty decent restaurant. I knew I couldn’t make the kind money I’d made as a nanny because well, the family I had been working for treated me really well and compensated me far better than most nanny positions I had heard of. I worked as much as I could but for some reason, I just couldn’t make enough to cover the bills I had. Between a really high car payment, rent, cell phone bill, insurance, and three credit cards… I was in over my head.
part of my heart will always be there
In August I began working for a private preschool and quickly discovered my passion for teaching. I was a natural. I loved everything about this job: the kids, the lessons, the projects, the creativity, the family atmosphere, everything. It was one of the best places I have ever worked and part of my heart will always be there. While I was working there in the morning, I was still trying to waitress at night. Often times this would leave me working late hours and I would have a hard time waking up in the morning. One morning I was so exhausted that while I was driving to work (late) I got into an accident on my way in. Thankfully it was just a fender bender and insurance took care of everything and no one was hurt. But that was enough to rattle me into looking for a different afternoon position that wouldn’t require me to work late hours.
It was at this point that I found a new afternoon nanny position that immediately followed the preschool and went until about 5 pm. I was working better hours and the pay was more consistent, but I was still struggling to make my payments. This job didn’t last very long because I felt like the parents were not paying me enough for the expectations they had for a nanny. Obviously, being somewhat spoiled by my previous long term nanny position, I got frustrated with this and started looking into other job opportunities. I landed at one of the cutest consignment shops in the area. I started working there in October of 2016 and I loved it. I was with the kids at the preschool in the morning and then got to have some fun with my creative side at the store in the afternoons. I was happy with my jobs and I felt like both of my sets of coworkers were like family.
I had anxiety attacks on a weekly basis
As happy as I was in my positions, though, I still was falling months behind on my payments. My cell phone had been shut off almost monthly, I was close to 5 months behind on my car payment, and I hadn’t paid on my credit cards in Lord knew how long. I was paying towards my bills but I just never had enough to pay the full amount. I would pay just enough so the companies knew I was making payments, but I lived in fear that I would lose my car, or that I didn’t have enough gas to make it to work, or even if I would be able to get something to eat.
I had never experienced this kind of stress and the burden weighed so heavy on me. I had anxiety attacks on a weekly basis, my self-esteem was plummeting downward, and all I could think was… I did this to myself. I’m drowning, and I will never make it out.
I applied to over 100 jobs
In December 2016, I started applying to jobs, which isn’t what I wanted to do at all. I mentioned before, I loved my jobs. I felt like I had a purpose there, and the thought of leaving jobs I was passionate about for more money just left a foul taste in my mouth. I didn’t want anything to do with it. But, I felt like God’s answer was to search for a new job, to trade my two jobs in for one full-time position so that I could have more time to spend serving the Lord. I applied to over 100 jobs in December and January. I had 3 interviews. The first one decided that even though I showed a lot of promise, they were going to go in another direction. The second one flirted with me the entire interview. Needless to say, I was offered the position about two weeks later but was so grossed out and uncomfortable I never responded. The last interview I had was for a job opportunity that I had heard about from a member of my church. When I went into the interview I felt confident that this would be a place I would be comfortable leaving my jobs for.
About a week later, I got a phone call asking for a second interview. When I went in for the second interview the following day I was offered the position and started two weeks later. Leaving the other jobs was extremely hard and the transition into the office world was very difficult in the beginning, but I knew how blessed I was to be working for a company who takes such good care of their employees. Now I am getting more comfortable in the office and beginning to connect with my coworkers and I am starting to feel like I belong. Every time I began to question if I had made the right decision, God showed me in the most obvious way. One day I was saying how much I missed working at the preschool to my fiancé, and then moments later I saw a work truck with the new company’s logo on it. I had never seen those trucks on the road before that moment, and I haven’t seen one since. So that sign told me that was God saying “hey, I know you miss the school, but this is where I want you to be.” This past weekend I was feeling a lot of sadness about missing the preschool that I used to work at. I prayed and asked God to help me realize that I had made the right decision and to help me feel confident in my new workplace. When I walked into work on Monday morning, I was offered a more challenging position and that was an answer to my prayer. God knows that I belong with this company at this time.
God has provided more than I could have ever imagined
Financially, God has now taken care of all that debt I have been telling you about. By the 3rd of March, I had received my last check from the school I worked at, my first check from my new job, as well as my tax refund. With that amount of money, I was able to pay off all of my credit cards, pay my rent, my phone bill, my insurance for the month of March, and catch myself up on my car payments. I stand here now, in awe of all that God has provided. I know that I don’t deserve a single bit of it and that none of this is because of me. But, by maintaining faithful in prayer and praise to the Lord through the storm (and believe me my storm was long, rough, and miserable), God has provided more than I could have ever imagined. He has taken care of my finances and rid me of the financial burden that weighed upon my heart for so long. He provided me with a job that highlights my skills in ways I had never imagined possible. He has provided so much and for that, I am grateful beyond words. God is so good all the time and all thanks belong to him. Freedom feels so incredible when your freedom comes from the Lord. And for the Lord to give me this freedom from my finances, He has provided me with time to spend with my loved ones, time to spend in His word, and time to spend serving him in ways I had been failing to before. He answered my prayers, my cries for relief, and my requests for time. God provided me with time and took away my burdens. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Much Love,
Caylee
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