Sunday, July 15, 2018

When everything goes wrong

This year was a rough one.  Although every New Years Eve I say "Thank God that is behind us!  Please let us have a better year!", it doesnt seem to get better; just different.
           Since Hurricane Irma hit in September of 2017, my husband and I have experienced monthly problems.  Of course they were intertwined with wonderful things, like family and grandchildren , but (and there's always a BUT), here we are in July of 2018 and it's been one thing after another or as Rosanna Danna Danna used to say, " If it's not one thing, it's another".  
When the hurricane hit, thank God it wasn't a direct one as all my family members up North were fearing.  We had just moved into a condo 2 miles off the ocean.  We did lose power and suffer damage to our property which was not covered by insurance.  I lost time from work, but we were okay!   
    In October, we received a sudden call from my nephew that my brother in law was on life support.  He begged us to come to the hospital because there were decisions to be made and he wanted his uncle there.  We rented a car as mine would not make that trip at the time.  We went to the hospital and then got a hotel room nearby.  It was very sad, and in the end it was time for his children to pull the plug.  Most of his family, including his 80 something old mother got to see him before, even though he was in an induced coma.   The funeral was delayed so we spent much longer there then we expected.  Cha-ching Cha-ching went the credit cards and cash.  The only blessing was to see so many of the family members together!
By mid November I broke my right wrist slipping on the bathroom floor.  There was a blessing there too-  I'm a lefty!   The cast stayed on for 6 long weeks and I had missed at least 2 weeks of work and used up all my sick time.  My employer had accidentally(?) 
 canceled my health insurance, even though it was being taken from my check.  I had to pay up front for medical care which went on another credit card.  I worked in Retail and also filled in at the register.  Before the month was over my Manager said she was leaving and had already notified the owners.  I was so upset.  We were a team, and now she was bailing,  moving on to greater adventures which I wished her success on, but also felt left behind.  I asked her why she didnt tell me in advance and she told me she was afraid I would apply for her job before she was ready to leave.  That stung! 
December came and went, I can't recall anything happening there too upseting.  I was still wearing my cast, and adjusting to new management.  
By January 3,  2018 my labrador of over ten years had to be euthanized.  This was devastating!   Heart broken and feeling helpless, we charged another unexpected expense and I went back to work.  
There were all kinds of problems happening there.  They had hired to twin sisters in the interim, and there seemed to be no rules anymore.  One sister told a customer not to come back if he had returns.  The other sister stomped on a customers left behind wihte jacket, and just as she was wiping her shoes on it, the customer turned the bend to retrieve it, and caught her in action.  This was surely an action that she should be fired for.  The customer made quite a scene with the new Manager, but there were no consequences.  The twins began to say, " If you are late, nothing happens.  If you leave early, nothing happens. If you dont show up, nothing happens! Whatever you do, nothing happens!"  I opened my mouth to argue the point and then realized they were right.  Apparently they gained some kind of personal immunity.  I learned to do my job the best I could and not get into personal issues.
Fast forward to June 1, 2018.  It was a Friday and I was looking forward to taking 3 days vacation time and my birthday coming up on the 7th.  I  came into work and was chased down by the manager.  He handed me a piece of paper, which I read, and looked at him in shock.  " Am I being let go?", I asked in disbelief.  He nodded his head and said there was nothing he could do.  The business had been coming to a crawl and you could count on two hands how many people walked through the door each day.  So off I went, feeling like I just got kicked in the teeth.  
I got home and filed for unemployment.  I filled out application after application with no response.  I guess if I was in my thirties it wouldn't have felt so bad.  
By July 1st we realized our air conditioner blew.  It took two weeks in Florida, to get a new AC unit and nearly three thousand dollars.  
My husband has been disabled for a long time.  My income mean't something.  Now it was gone.  Unemployment in Florida pays so little we worry every day about how we are going to keep up.  
I tell all this for one reason only;  we all are going through something.  I have always said that we should be nice to customers because you don't know what they are carrying in their hearts and lives.  Now it was my turn. 
There were other things happening but I'd rather not go into detail about them.  Things that make you say to yourself " What's the point?"  However, I realize that my only hope has ever been in God.   He has always come through for me.  He has always made me see the lesson in everything.  
If you are going through a season of pain, loss and confusion, remember this ;  God is for you, so no man can stand against you!!
It may not be in your time, but God always plans it perfectly!  I pray for all of you out there who need hope and help.  We need to pray for eachother!!  We need to ask God to bless and not curse .  With our mouths we can bring a curse or a blessing, so we must watch our words and our thoughts.  Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I ask that God pour out blessing upon blessing to each and every one of you.  We are all in this thing called life together.  

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