And Suddenly

While reading different scriptures in the Bible there are many times the words “And suddenly” appear. They occur often when a prayer request is answered when it is not expected. I experienced an “and suddenly” in November, 2017.
Circumstances had made it that my savings were gone, my paycheck was being garnished and I had insufficient funds to pay my rent, car payments, utilities and food was whatever the least expensive food that could be extended the furthest. Life had become a nightmare. Even though I prayed often, it seem as if my prayers were not getting to God or so I thought.
I wrote a prayer list so that I could be consistent with my requests to God. One of the items on my prayer list was to move out of my apartment by the end of November 2017. Living in my apartment had caused such anxiety. My neighbors were loud at all times of the night, even though there was a clause that stipulated specific quiet times. Then my car was broken into and nothing was in the works to control the crime spree.
One morning in late November, my daughter called and said that her fiance’ told her that she should contact me because I needed assistance. She called and asked me about my finances and asked for permission to call her brothers to discuss my plight. I was touched by their compassion. The result of the conference call was that my oldest son suggested that I come and live with his family while I get enough money to be on my own again. I was gratified by the email that his wife sent welcoming me to their home. However, I was still a little unsure. I had relied so heavily on my children that I could not see God’s hand working on my behalf.
“And suddenly”, my Heavenly Father took over. On November 30, 2017, along with my ex sister and brother in law; two of their congregants and three other moving guys that my youngest son had hired moved my belongings out of my apartment and a storage unit into a larger storage facility near my son’s house all within four hours. As you can read not one of my children were there to assist with the move. Things had worked out that they were unavailable. I didn’t understand what was happening but I relied on the voice from the Holy Spirit telling and showing me that I had to keep moving.
During this time I was working part time. Even living with my son’s family, I still did not know how I was going to manage. “ And suddenly”, as I was sitting in the bedroom that I was provided pondering my dilemma I received an email asking if I would consider a long term music teaching position beginning on Monday. The day of the email was on Friday. I quickly responded and began work.
I had applied for a grant to assist me with paying my rent back in August. “And suddenly” during the month of December, I received an email informing me that I had received the grant and the funds were being sent to the apartment complex. My December back rent was paid.
Now I am making another prayer list and on it I am asking for a house or end unit townhouse of my dreams. I would like to be in my house by January 31 with the money to make my house payment, my car payment, utilities, other bills and all new furniture. Additionally, I would like to live in a quiet neighborhood with a two car garage.

I am so excited.

Til you find your Dream

“Climb every mountain ‘til you find your dream,” is a phrase in a song that I hold so close to my heart. I am on another journey and ascending into heights that I have always dreamed about but never had the courage to conquer. During my childhood I was always a visionary; I saw opportunities that no one in my family saw. I shared my dreams but the responses almost always were squashed with laughter and teasing. To this day it is difficult for me to hear someone being teased for any reason. I decided to keep my dreams to myself but what I did not realize was that as I grew older I pushed my dreams away to accommodate others.
Here I am at the genesis of a new dawn trying to climb the mountain that I should have scaled as a youth. However, the rise has given way to more challenges than ever; I am forty years older than the normal age for climbing this mountain. This mountain that I am looking to ascend should have been conquered when I was in my late teens and into my twenties when I had the strength and fortitude to soar. Nevertheless, I am strapping on all that is needed to push forward. I do have a slight advantage over youth and that is experience.
My knowledge will assist me in the deadly pitfalls that I would have encountered in my youth. I have learned through a lot of falls and knock downs to get as much information as possible. I have no fear of asking questions, directions or advice something that I did not do during my formative years. I have learned that intelligence is acquired and that acquisition is most important.
My family and I had the opportunity to live in Europe, Germany to be specific, and I observed a difference in learning than in the US. In the country that we lived in the focus on education was mastering a vocation. Students would attend classes, becomes an apprentice in a specific field of study and would continue to be educated and mentored by someone that had become proficient in that field. It took years for the student to be a master in her/his craft. I was amazed at this concept. I discovered that training was very important.
I have come to realize that preparation was a skill in itself. To prepare for a climb, one has to know where you want to go, how to secure the best guide, how to navigate through all terrains, when to seek shelter and what to do when you get to the destination. As I look back on the beginning of my climb I realize that I had not taken the time to prepare myself.
It has taken a lot of starting over and adjustments for me but now I ready. I have the best guide; I am prepared with an abundance of knowledge, an updated set of skills, and the physical and mental stamina to get it done. Whether I get to the summit remains to be seen but I am not giving up ‘til I find my dream.

My thoughts

I love sports, especially football. I live for the Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Thursday’s in the fall and winter when I get the opportunity to watch, cheer and get all excited over a game. When I get to work, I immediately plug my ear buds into my computer and listen to ESPN radio almost all day.

The latest thing that has been so widely reported and talked is the Quarterback from Texas Tech, Johnny Manziel. This young man became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012. His notoriety came to light when he and his team beat Alabama (Roll Tide) University. He was dubbed “Johnny Football.” Johnny went on to be a boy wonder that took the wonder out of everything he touched. He partied like no other, had front row seats at the basketball championship, overslept during a football camp and tweeted like a bird. He seemed untouchable until someone reported that he had received compensation for signing his name on his football memorabilia to be sold.

Now all of the sporting media, his enemies and others are waiting for the NCAA to punish him. Gracious, were not these people young? Sure, the spotlight was thrust upon him but do you not remember what it was like to be 19/20 years old?  Was he taken aside and told that almost everyone has cell phones with cameras and recorders and that he should be mindful of his surroundings and the leeches that will be all over him? It seems to me that the kid was given the key to the world and told nothing. So, why are we surprised that he opened all of the doors including Pandora’s Box?

As a Mom, I tried to warn my children, but I knew they heard only something’s that came out of my mouth. My next challenge was to love them no matter what and be front and center when I was needed. As a parent it is hard to watch the vultures try to pick away at your child but one thing that I have discovered is that I am very good at putting the pieces back together and loving what remains.

I hope that Johnny’s parents can do the same for their son because the media and his detractors are tearing him apart. This is not about football or sports anymore it a scene from the Gladiators.

Learning New Tricks

 

My children taught me the value of using the computer and all of its tricks. I recall typing letters, newsletters, programs, agendas and not knowing how to save them for future references. I would print the correspondence and had no viable record of my missive. One day my daughter was in the room during this procedure and she asked why I was retyping something that was already completed and I gave her a look like “huh”. She then asked me to remove myself from my chair and proceeded to save the document and inform me that the letter was there forever and I could open it again and again and make changes when necessary. I was stunned, why because I value time and I wasted so much time redoing everything. She then took it upon herself to teach me the functions of this godsend.

That was then and this is now. I am currently working at a job that requires a huge amount of computer knowledge. I am working in a computer experience field that caused me much angst and many sleepless nights. I realized that I had to learn fast or I would be out of a job. I work alongside colleagues that are 20 to 25 years younger than me. I tried not to look intimidated but I was clearly out of my league. I had not planned to work at this type of job but I had a chance to get my foot in the door of a major university with hopes of completing a master’s degree and move into a doctoral program. Boy, did I take a wrong turn, or did I?

Although this is not my ideal job, I have learned many new tricks. One major trick that I have learned is to use Google and Bing extensively. These search engines allows you to find all types of information to allow one to learn independently. I have educated myself on a broad range of computer skills. In addition, there are many sites that offer free classes that are done very well. I am very proud that I have the capacity to get information without asking a colleague, friend or family member, with one caveat, my daughter set up my blog.

 Time and fortitude is all it takes. If you are starting over or if this is your genesis just know that familiarity with the computer can open many doors, all it takes is a willingness to learn new tricks.