FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT--The Victory's Source

Hello, all! Again, I apologize for my recent absence from blogland. My life is getting increasingly complicated and I just don't have the time I wish I did for many things right now. Tonight, though I was feeling prompted to write. I don't know if the reason is to help me or to help someone else who may need my words.

This has been a very special week for our family. Tyler got a job! It's not much, but it will allow us to reach "self-reliant" again, which is a good feeling. I just wanted to share my story of how it all came to be. . .

About a week and a half ago, my mom, who works as a missionary at our local LDS Employment Office, overheard a sister who works in the Bishop Storehouse mentioning to someone that her daughter was the one who hires for the Kimberly-Clark plant in Harrisville. She went in and asked if it would be ok to pass the lead on to her son-in-law, who was looking for a job. The lady said yes and gave my mom her a business card for her daughter and included a handwritten note with her name. We stapled the card to Ty's resume, drove to the plant and applied for the position. Tyler was then required to take two tests, both of which he aced. They scheduled an interview for him the next Wednesday. Following the interview, he felt that he didn't get the job. The interviewer even told him there were no positions available.

The next day, I drove my son to preschool, which is several miles away, in Perry. On the drive home, I lost it. I had an out-loud talk with my Father in Heaven. I told him that I was discouraged, and though I had a sure testimony of His love for me, I felt a little abandoned. I told him how confused I was. I asked him to make the way more clear for our family. I expressed some of my deepest desires: to have another baby, to have more time to work on my weight, to spend more time at home with my kids and less time at work. Then I told Him that if this was the road we needed to travel at this time, that I would keep holding on. But, if there was any way that we could receive guidance, we would welcome it gladly. It was a very humbling experience, driving and sobbing and truly talking to my "Father." The spirit was very strong. He may as well have been sitting right beside me.

About a half an hour after my prayer, my mom called and told Tyler to stay near the phone that day. She had to go, so she couldn't explain. Five minutes later, the daughter of the Sister Missionary called and invited Tyler to attend orientation the next day. We didn't learn until that night when we talked to my mom, that the Sister Missionary (who has never met Tyler) called her daughter WHILE I was praying, and asked her if she had hired him. Her daughter said no. The mother said, "You need to!"

At that moment I felt so loved! I knew that Father had heard my prayer. I felt so comforted to know that, though our difficulties are probably far from over, He does hear me. He cares about me individually.

It all reminded me of the story in Judges where Gideon is asked to form an army to go up against the Midianites. Little by little, God asks Gideon to decrease the size of his army until it is pared down to a mere 300 men. Why? So everyone who witnessed the victory of Gideon's army would know without doubt that the victory came from the God of Israel. I'll bet these soldiers were more than a little scared as they went to battle. Our family has felt much the same way as we have faced the battle of un- and under-employment. But our faith in God has never, or will it ever, wavered in the least. We know that through obedience, God will grant us victory. And we will have no doubt about that victory's source.