A Story of God's Provision (Part 1)

In July of 2009 Collin and I got engaged! One of the prerequisites we'd set for ourselves to get married was that we both needed to have full time permanent jobs. Until July, Collin had been working full time with a contractor but only on a temporary basis. He was then offered a full-time position with a new contract that was being awarded. Great news! Collin proposed and we were so happy. Then about a month later, Collin got let go from that job, we're still not completely sure why. We were crushed! We'd already set our wedding date; already started planning. So we kept up with plans, praying hard and just knowing Collin would find a job in the 8 months until our wedding. However, after months of looking, applying at all the government contractors and not even getting an interview, Collin knew he needed to just get any job. A friend of ours worked at Wal-Mart in the Tire & Lube Express. He urged Collin to apply, and though it wouldn't be an ideal job, at least it would be something until a better job came along. We'd been praying for something to come along, and this just seemed like it was where God wanted Collin to go for now. Collin was hired and started at Wal-Mart on January 1, 2010. Things were looking pretty good. With my salary and Collin now having at least a steady job (even though it wasn't the best pay or best job) we put a deposit down on a town home to move into once we got married.

March 2010 arrived and we were so close to our wedding! Things were going good and we were both really excited for the future! Then I find out that I'm being let go from my job. I'd been there just under a year, and though I didn't love it, it paid really well. My last day of work with that company was March 26, only 29 days from our wedding, and the exact day that we signed the lease on our town home and Collin moved in. You guys, this was scary. Collin working at Wal-Mart was NOT enough to support us. Not even close. I immediately applied for unemployment benefits, not sure that I would get them, but thank goodness I was approved. I hated having to use government help, but without it, we would have struggled much more. Having a rent payment, two student loan payments (that add up almost to our rent payment), cell phone bill, a car loan, and now all the expenses of living on your own (utilities, food, etc.) we needed that unemployment check.

I began praying hard. I didn't know why God would do this to us. So close to our wedding day; so close to beginning our future. I had no idea why God would let me lose my job. But I prayed, knowing that He could and would provide me with a new one. Fortunately I found a job within two weeks of my last day of work. However, I didn't start until after our wedding, because really, I would need to take a week off after only working for a week. I discussed this with my new boss and he was perfectly okay with me starting my job on May 3, after the wedding and honeymoon were over. And this is when I realized that God used the loss of my job for good. It allowed me to focus solely on wedding planning. That final month before the wedding would have been the most stressful month of my life, but because I was unemployed, because I found a job shortly into my unemployment, I was able to focus all my time and attention on the last minute details of our wedding. It was the BEST blessing, ever. So after the wedding was over and we returned from our honeymoon, I started my new job. And as excited as I was for my new job, I was NOT excited to have to take a $4/hr pay cut. When we looked around for where to live months prior, we took in to account our salaries. That pay cut was going to hurt, but little did we know how much!