Testimony
Having gained employment from my Placement with a company in Wellington. I found myself manning their reception desk in the main office in Wellington, not a position I aspired to. However with a wedding coming up and a desire to contribute to our lives together I engaged in the job. It was to be for 6 weeks and challenge was the name of the game in an environment that was constantly changing.
I should be used to change as my whole life up to that point had been about change. I had been outside of church for the last 3 years due to several bad experiences that finally saw me give up in disgust with the church and all but turn my back on God.
During my years with the church I was a solo Mum of a child who did not fit into what was considered the ‘norm’ thus leading to being ostracised and labelled as a family unit.
However I have also been on the receiving end of God giving back to me the years the locusts had eaten and I believe that due to the last 20 years of loss and failure that I have come into a period of jubilee and God has begun to restore the education I had to abandon due to my life being swallowed in caring for my son and burn-out and work.
At 44 I am 3 years through a Degree in Social Work due to graduate this year, I no longer have to worry about where my next meal will come from or how I will pay the bills, in fact now I don’t give either a thought, I accidentally ended up with not one but 2 jobs both paying more than the supermarket job I once held that I had to work 60 hours a week in to survive. Both these jobs meant experience in Social Work was more concentrated and gave me work through-out the holiday period in the lead up to my wedding.
I have a man called to be my husband in the true sense of the word to enhance and add to my life after enduring years of abuse and unfaithfulness at the hands of another man whose mission in life was to take as much as he could from my identity. I stood this for 5 years before I moved on with my son.
These changes continued and snowballed despite my not giving God the time of Day, He in His infinite goodness still blessed my life.
One of the changes was in counsellors during my time at the company I was employed with, moving from one to another site to cover shortages; I met George and Sharmaine when they arrived for a stint of two weeks with the Wellington office, George to have a much needed break and Sharmaine to work as counsellor for the two weeks.
It was not until 2-3 days later that I discovered they were Pastors of a small church in Christchurch. I wasted no time in telling them my thoughts on the church and trying (in vain) to convince them I was tuff. I had always wondered why there seemed to be a connection between Sharmaine and myself, like we had always known each other and the feeling of warmth and friendship. Then I found out they were Pastors and “Oh the penny drops.”
The next two weeks felt like they had come just for me, they hadn’t and I struggled with the feeling that I was being egotistical until they explained that sometimes God will send people half way round the world just to talk to one person.
The time for me at this company in Wellington had started with me being incredibly grumpy and ended with me feeling incredibly grumpy but with the difference being I had made friends with people who had accepted me warts and all and I think God maybe wanted to get my attention just to say “Hey I’m still here and I love you.”
The time came to a close when they had had dinner with my partner and I and I had made plans to attend a conference in Christchurch in June. Yahoo I haven’t been to Christchurch since I was 20 and now I was going back to see people I now know and to meet others whom I will know soon.
God has His eye on the sparrow.
Having gained employment from my Placement with a company in Wellington. I found myself manning their reception desk in the main office in Wellington, not a position I aspired to. However with a wedding coming up and a desire to contribute to our lives together I engaged in the job. It was to be for 6 weeks and challenge was the name of the game in an environment that was constantly changing.
I should be used to change as my whole life up to that point had been about change. I had been outside of church for the last 3 years due to several bad experiences that finally saw me give up in disgust with the church and all but turn my back on God.
During my years with the church I was a solo Mum of a child who did not fit into what was considered the ‘norm’ thus leading to being ostracised and labelled as a family unit.
However I have also been on the receiving end of God giving back to me the years the locusts had eaten and I believe that due to the last 20 years of loss and failure that I have come into a period of jubilee and God has begun to restore the education I had to abandon due to my life being swallowed in caring for my son and burn-out and work.
At 44 I am 3 years through a Degree in Social Work due to graduate this year, I no longer have to worry about where my next meal will come from or how I will pay the bills, in fact now I don’t give either a thought, I accidentally ended up with not one but 2 jobs both paying more than the supermarket job I once held that I had to work 60 hours a week in to survive. Both these jobs meant experience in Social Work was more concentrated and gave me work through-out the holiday period in the lead up to my wedding.
I have a man called to be my husband in the true sense of the word to enhance and add to my life after enduring years of abuse and unfaithfulness at the hands of another man whose mission in life was to take as much as he could from my identity. I stood this for 5 years before I moved on with my son.
These changes continued and snowballed despite my not giving God the time of Day, He in His infinite goodness still blessed my life.
One of the changes was in counsellors during my time at the company I was employed with, moving from one to another site to cover shortages; I met George and Sharmaine when they arrived for a stint of two weeks with the Wellington office, George to have a much needed break and Sharmaine to work as counsellor for the two weeks.
It was not until 2-3 days later that I discovered they were Pastors of a small church in Christchurch. I wasted no time in telling them my thoughts on the church and trying (in vain) to convince them I was tuff. I had always wondered why there seemed to be a connection between Sharmaine and myself, like we had always known each other and the feeling of warmth and friendship. Then I found out they were Pastors and “Oh the penny drops.”
The next two weeks felt like they had come just for me, they hadn’t and I struggled with the feeling that I was being egotistical until they explained that sometimes God will send people half way round the world just to talk to one person.
The time for me at this company in Wellington had started with me being incredibly grumpy and ended with me feeling incredibly grumpy but with the difference being I had made friends with people who had accepted me warts and all and I think God maybe wanted to get my attention just to say “Hey I’m still here and I love you.”
The time came to a close when they had had dinner with my partner and I and I had made plans to attend a conference in Christchurch in June. Yahoo I haven’t been to Christchurch since I was 20 and now I was going back to see people I now know and to meet others whom I will know soon.
God has His eye on the sparrow.
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