Freedom
God is moving so tangibly in my life and in the lives of my family members. Ever since I participated in Restoring the Foundations inner healing ministry, there's been a shift in the spiritual atmosphere around me. After some circumstances beyond my control, I found myself struggling to pay my bills because I no longer had any financial support from my mom. At the beginning of this year I remember nights where I'd be on my knees not only praying for my family, but begging God to help me get through these really tough times. I learned that prayer and praise were keys to maintaining a positive attitude and inner peace as the world as I knew it came crashing down around me. The numbers just weren't matching up. I had no source of income and I didn't even know where my next meals were coming from. Sounds over-dramatic, sure, but poverty is very real and as someone who has never had to fear going broke, I was no longer sure about what I thought I was sure about..
I'll admit that my mentality towards jobs, especially part-time entry level jobs was a bit snobby. I had a very specific job criteria that made looking for jobs a pain in the butt. No food services. No uniforms. Little to no manual labor. I wanted to avoid excessive criticism and confrontation with disgruntled customers. No to early mornings. No to full time work. In my mind, nothing was good enough because what I really wanted I couldn't have: a job that lined up with my calling working with young women and women, speaking life into them and encouraging them and helping them discover their true God-given identities opposed to what the world tries to tell them they are [and aren't].
I knew that God wanted to break that rebellion, break that control and break that independence that I was holding so tightly to manage the fear I faced. I had to trust that whatever job He blessed me with, even if it was shoveling horse poop, would be exactly where He wanted me to be and where I needed to be at the time. I made small attempts at putting all the fears and control aside; trusting that God knew what I could and couldn't handle. For the first time, I prayed before, during and after applying for jobs.
At the end of January I was hired at a call centre for a Canadian chain of restaurants as an order taker for delivery. It was part-time, and it was straight forward, and best of all, I got paid. Inside I was still a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to work in job that focused on Kingdom values, but I was still grateful for what God had blessed me with. There were no early mornings, there were no uniforms, and I wasn't around food. It met all of the picky criteria I had in my head and I knew that this was the "little" God was entrusting me with to see how I did with it.
I pushed myself to show up, even on the days where I would rather be anywhere else. One day my feet were soaked before I even got to work, and I was running late because I missed the bus and it was freezing outside, but I didn't give up. I pushed through the discomfort and through grumbles, I still thanked God that I had money to eat that night.
Around the time I was hired as an order taker, I also applied to a very appealing job advertisement to work in a call centre, counseling employees of other companies in personal matters. I was a bit under qualified, but I am a natural counselor and listener so I told God that I really wanted it and applied anyway. That same week, my father called me and told me about a live-in position working at a place called Freedom Village in the girls' dormitory that houses troubled teens. He had heard about it on the radio and said that he had a good feeling about it and that I should apply. I wrote an email to the pastor and sent it out.
This Monday, I got a call from both Freedom Village and from the counseling job, asking for an interview. I called Freedom Village back because I missed their call, but no one was in the office so I had to leave a message. My dad said that he would drive me out to the ranch to meet with the pastor and said that it would probably have to be Tuesday of this week (aka tomorrow, at the time we were talking) or next week. I kept my phone on me all evening, but I did not hear from Freedom Village USA again.
Tuesday morning I was woken up by a phone call from the secretary at Freedom Village! I don't think she realized how far I would be traveling to get there because she asked if I could come in for an interview that afternoon. She called at 10am and wanted to meet at 3pm. It was very rushy but I told her we should be able to make it. I called my dad and he called in to his work and he came to pick me up. My stepmother was able to come for the trip as well. The two of them sponsor a teen who is currently living at the ranch (she's originally from Barrie, Ont) so they were excited to be able to come with because they want to see where their sponsored teen is living!
Long story short we got lost and 3pm came and went. I called and the secretary told me that the office shuts at 4pm, and hopefully we could make it before then or else we'd have to come back the next day. There came a point in the trip where we realized we weren't going to make it but we had to make the choice to be "all-in" and trust the Lord that this was His will and that our trip would not be for nothing. We got to the ranch at about 5pm. As we drove in, the pastor drove past us, out. It was the worst feeling- our hearts sank that we had JUST missed the interview opportunity by a hair. Not wanting to give up, I still went in to the administration building and told them I was there for an interview that I was very late for. The secretary came and told me that they were shut for the day and that there are some hotels and motels about 20 minutes away that we could stay at and we'd have to come back tomorrow. I was so discouraged because both my dad and my stepmom had to work the next day, and we probably wouldn't be able to stay overnight. I felt like it had been such a huge waste of time.
On our way out the building my dad was there and he began talking to the secretary about stuff and after waiting for 15 minutes as she made a phone call, we were told that the pastor would meet us at a restaurant in the closest town and he'd interview me over dinner.
During dinner they asked me questions about my walk with the Lord, about my ability to handle tough girls, about my willingness to work in a ministry position. They told me more about the job responsibilities. By the end of the evening, the pastor asked, "So when can you start?" I was ecstatic. There were a million things running through my mind but more than anything, I was profusely thanking God for the opportunity to serve Him and be an example for these young ladies who need to see what LOVE looks like.
I will be moving to Freedom Village next weekend (February 22). My job will require me to support and keep the girls accountable. There are about 20 girls in the program between the ages of 14 and 21. One of the young women is the teen that my parents sponsor! Most likely I'll be living in an "apartment" on the ranch. I will be attending chapel every day and church twice a week with these girls. On top of making sure the girls follow the rules and fostering relationships with them, I also have the opportunity to help out in other aspects of the ministry.
I'm so excited for this opportunity. I can't believe the amount of favor that God has on my life right now. A week ago I was grumbling about walking in the snow and having to take the bus late at night. Three weeks ago I was feeling overwhelmed with not having enough to pay my bills. Now I have 3 job opportunities and one of them is directly in line with what my calling is in life. I can't even believe it. God is so faithful.
I'll admit that my mentality towards jobs, especially part-time entry level jobs was a bit snobby. I had a very specific job criteria that made looking for jobs a pain in the butt. No food services. No uniforms. Little to no manual labor. I wanted to avoid excessive criticism and confrontation with disgruntled customers. No to early mornings. No to full time work. In my mind, nothing was good enough because what I really wanted I couldn't have: a job that lined up with my calling working with young women and women, speaking life into them and encouraging them and helping them discover their true God-given identities opposed to what the world tries to tell them they are [and aren't].
I knew that God wanted to break that rebellion, break that control and break that independence that I was holding so tightly to manage the fear I faced. I had to trust that whatever job He blessed me with, even if it was shoveling horse poop, would be exactly where He wanted me to be and where I needed to be at the time. I made small attempts at putting all the fears and control aside; trusting that God knew what I could and couldn't handle. For the first time, I prayed before, during and after applying for jobs.
At the end of January I was hired at a call centre for a Canadian chain of restaurants as an order taker for delivery. It was part-time, and it was straight forward, and best of all, I got paid. Inside I was still a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to work in job that focused on Kingdom values, but I was still grateful for what God had blessed me with. There were no early mornings, there were no uniforms, and I wasn't around food. It met all of the picky criteria I had in my head and I knew that this was the "little" God was entrusting me with to see how I did with it.
I pushed myself to show up, even on the days where I would rather be anywhere else. One day my feet were soaked before I even got to work, and I was running late because I missed the bus and it was freezing outside, but I didn't give up. I pushed through the discomfort and through grumbles, I still thanked God that I had money to eat that night.
Around the time I was hired as an order taker, I also applied to a very appealing job advertisement to work in a call centre, counseling employees of other companies in personal matters. I was a bit under qualified, but I am a natural counselor and listener so I told God that I really wanted it and applied anyway. That same week, my father called me and told me about a live-in position working at a place called Freedom Village in the girls' dormitory that houses troubled teens. He had heard about it on the radio and said that he had a good feeling about it and that I should apply. I wrote an email to the pastor and sent it out.
This Monday, I got a call from both Freedom Village and from the counseling job, asking for an interview. I called Freedom Village back because I missed their call, but no one was in the office so I had to leave a message. My dad said that he would drive me out to the ranch to meet with the pastor and said that it would probably have to be Tuesday of this week (aka tomorrow, at the time we were talking) or next week. I kept my phone on me all evening, but I did not hear from Freedom Village USA again.
Tuesday morning I was woken up by a phone call from the secretary at Freedom Village! I don't think she realized how far I would be traveling to get there because she asked if I could come in for an interview that afternoon. She called at 10am and wanted to meet at 3pm. It was very rushy but I told her we should be able to make it. I called my dad and he called in to his work and he came to pick me up. My stepmother was able to come for the trip as well. The two of them sponsor a teen who is currently living at the ranch (she's originally from Barrie, Ont) so they were excited to be able to come with because they want to see where their sponsored teen is living!
Long story short we got lost and 3pm came and went. I called and the secretary told me that the office shuts at 4pm, and hopefully we could make it before then or else we'd have to come back the next day. There came a point in the trip where we realized we weren't going to make it but we had to make the choice to be "all-in" and trust the Lord that this was His will and that our trip would not be for nothing. We got to the ranch at about 5pm. As we drove in, the pastor drove past us, out. It was the worst feeling- our hearts sank that we had JUST missed the interview opportunity by a hair. Not wanting to give up, I still went in to the administration building and told them I was there for an interview that I was very late for. The secretary came and told me that they were shut for the day and that there are some hotels and motels about 20 minutes away that we could stay at and we'd have to come back tomorrow. I was so discouraged because both my dad and my stepmom had to work the next day, and we probably wouldn't be able to stay overnight. I felt like it had been such a huge waste of time.
On our way out the building my dad was there and he began talking to the secretary about stuff and after waiting for 15 minutes as she made a phone call, we were told that the pastor would meet us at a restaurant in the closest town and he'd interview me over dinner.
During dinner they asked me questions about my walk with the Lord, about my ability to handle tough girls, about my willingness to work in a ministry position. They told me more about the job responsibilities. By the end of the evening, the pastor asked, "So when can you start?" I was ecstatic. There were a million things running through my mind but more than anything, I was profusely thanking God for the opportunity to serve Him and be an example for these young ladies who need to see what LOVE looks like.
I will be moving to Freedom Village next weekend (February 22). My job will require me to support and keep the girls accountable. There are about 20 girls in the program between the ages of 14 and 21. One of the young women is the teen that my parents sponsor! Most likely I'll be living in an "apartment" on the ranch. I will be attending chapel every day and church twice a week with these girls. On top of making sure the girls follow the rules and fostering relationships with them, I also have the opportunity to help out in other aspects of the ministry.
I'm so excited for this opportunity. I can't believe the amount of favor that God has on my life right now. A week ago I was grumbling about walking in the snow and having to take the bus late at night. Three weeks ago I was feeling overwhelmed with not having enough to pay my bills. Now I have 3 job opportunities and one of them is directly in line with what my calling is in life. I can't even believe it. God is so faithful.
Freedom Village USA is a home for youth with a background of struggle. Many have been involved in drug and alcohol abuse, have attempted suicide, or lived in abusive home situations including physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Some have turned to lives of crime after their families and society abandoned them. The 150-acre campus is located just north of Watkins Glen in Western New York State. Freedom Village USA, founded in 1981 is an "intensive care ward" for America's youth. Thousands of young people from across America, Canada, and around the world, once labeled "hopeless" and "unreachable," have turned their lives around through this Christian based program.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr-_kxYVlCA
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