Sing a Song for the City

My Jesus, I love thee. I know thou art mine.

I moved to a city unknown to me by myself save a moving truck of belongings and an aging cat in August. A new job opportunity led me here, but that job was just a vehicle to get me here. It quickly became clear to me that something just wasn’t right. My boss and my coworkers did not like me, I didn’t care for my position very much, and I felt unsettled. I refused to complain, but I prayed about the situation and I told my parents what was happening so they could pray with me and offer counsel.

On Wednesday, November 16, I woke up at 4 a.m. Upon seeing I still had 2 hours to sleep before getting dressed for work, I went back to sleep. During those 2 hours, I had a dream. I dreamt that when I went in to work that day I was not allowed to go to my department but was taken to human resources and was told that neither my boss nor my coworkers liked me so they were getting rid of me. When I awoke I was hurt and knew this was a warning from God.

Sure enough, on Friday, November 18, the day before my 90-day probationary period was up, I was called to human resources at the end of the day and my employment was terminated. The reason given was unfair, but I’m not going to disclose that here. I have already forgiven and have decided not to defend myself. Instead, I’m trusting God will fight for me. I asked when the decision was made to terminate my employment. The HR rep said the order was turned in on that Wednesday, the same day I dreamed. God cared enough to warn me of what was to come. I believe it was to show me that He was in control and would prove Himself faithful.

After I was terminated, I made the immediate decision to forgive. I was not going to play the victim or pack this away as baggage. Still, I didn’t know what to do. I did the one thing I always do when I don’t know what else to do–I went to church that night. As I sat in the parking lot of the church, I spoke with my parents on the phone. With Thanksgiving the following week, they told me to pack up and come home to figure out what to do next. I refused to leave yet though. I had already made a commitment to serve at the Thanksgiving outreach the next day at church and that Sunday night there was a praise and worship service I was excited to attend. Besides, I kept feeling a draw to this church and just couldn’t leave town yet.

The next day I followed through on my commitment with the Thanksgiving outreach. Then during the Sunday morning service, I responded to the altar call. I was desperate for a miracle! Payday was a few days prior to my last day of work, but that check only covered half of the month’s bills and I didn’t know how I was going to pay for rent due on December 1. The girl who prayed with me at the altar only asked my name. Then, without knowing my need, prayed a simple prayer rebuking the enemy on my behalf. I returned to my seat with faith believing God was going to move.

That evening I went to the praise and worship night. The leader of the ministry found me balled up in a corner on the floor crying out to God and asked if he could pray for me. As he led me to the altar, he summoned musicians and singers off the stage and the congregation to surround me and lay hands on me in prayer.

As they prayed, it was like flood gates had opened. I wailed uncontrollably as streams of muddy tears stained my cheeks with mascara, but I didn’t care. The leader spoke into my ear the following words. Keep in mind he didn’t know anything about what happened to me.
He said,

“The enemy has stolen from you this past week. The situation was unfair and it was not your fault. The Lord is going to replace what was stolen from you and give you even more. You will have abundance in your finances. I say abundance; more than before. You will have new relationships and God is going to meet every need. Where your gifts and talents were not appreciated, God is going to give you a new job where you will be appreciated. God wants you to know that if you were the only one here tonight, this was all for you. That’s how much He loves you.”

He then said, “There is a minister in your family. Who is it?”
I replied, “My dad is a pastor of a church.”
The leader then said, “God is going to perform a miracle this week in your life, but only if you seek God like never before and intercede for the man of God in your family and his ministry. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. You seek Him first through prayer.”

I left that night still not knowing what I was going to do other than pray for my dad and his church like never before.

The next morning I got up, read my Bible, prayed, and dressed. I still didn’t know what to do so I went to the church. I wasn’t seeking financial assistance or a handout, I was seeking direction and godly counsel. All I knew for sure about my move to this new area was that this was the church the Lord wanted me to attend. (Read previous blog entry titled “Put Away the Party Decorations” for story on confirmation of making this church my home church.)

The pastor’s wife listened and prayed with me. She asked questions. How much money was I making at my previous job? What kind of job duties was I responsible for? What past positions have I held? What are my skills and education? The pastor’s wife let me use her computer to look for open positions in the area to apply and asked me for a copy of my resume because it turns out the church needed an administrative assistant and had been without for two months. I found my resume in my email, tweaked it and gave it to her. Then I left because I was going to head to my parent’s home 3 hours south for Thanksgiving, plus my Nana was in town visiting from Virginia and I wanted to spend time with her.

I received a phone call by lunchtime the next day offering me the position at the church to start the next week. It turns out I had just the right skills set, ministry background (I’m a pastor’s daughter and understand how a church operates and ministry) and experience (I was a secretary for the past 3 years prior) for the position! It is temporary through the end of December and in January we’ll reconvene and discuss permanency.

I have just finished my third week and I couldn’t be happier! I love this job. I love this church. I am home. The pastor, his wife, the other pastoral staff and ministers are all just wonderful. I don’t know if they fully realize what a blessing they all have been to me, but if there ever was a doubt in my mind of how much God loves me, it is vanquished now because of the tangible display of love shown to me through the leadership team at this church.

My God is faithful. I realized today how much of a miracle this truly is. In my new position, I receive numerous calls each week of people in the community desperate because, for one reason or another, they are unable to pay their electric bill or rent. I found myself in that same exact situation just a few weeks ago. The church is unable to provide financial assistance and, unfortunately, I’ve had to turn people with a legitimate need away. I hear the desperation in their voice and know firsthand what it’s like to stay up all night lying there feeling numb and trying to figure out how to not ruin my credit score of 851. What sets me apart from those the church has no choice but to turn away? The fact that the Lord gave me favor with them with so many similar cases each day is nothing short of a miracle! I am grateful.

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