5am. Phone rings. “Doolooloolooloo…, as of March 13, 2012 your available balance is… (holding my breath)… $99.76 and below the $100 you have in your alert setting.” Phew, that’s all ? I can deal with that (2 more days until payday). So off I go to work, have lunch for $6.82, and stop at the drugstore ($15) and get a few groceries ($24.35).
Perseverance by Rich Hall http://www.rhimages.com
Next day, lunch is $5.84 and I pay the gas bill ($17.65). Phone rings. Bank calling. “Doolooloolooloo…, as of March 14,2012 your available balance is…( again holding my breath) $35.94 and below your alert setting of $100.” Ok that’s getting low, but doable. I have 60 more miles of gas left but I get paid tomorrow. I can get gas in the morning when the money goes in. It’s hard living paycheck to paycheck but we can do it.
Last year I was driving and thinking about the bills I had to pay and wondering how was I going to do it. I went to get the mail and got a refund check from an overpayment to the doctor’s office for my co-pays.
Another time spring break was coming up and my mom was coming to visit and I wanted to do something special, like a short vacation or something. I went to the mailbox and got a letter that I the old savings account I had at work was never closed and still had money in it. It was the exact amount I needed for a night’s stay at one of Disneyland’s hotels. My daughter had never stayed overnight in a hotel before and it was the best ever! She didn’t want to leave the room.
The best thing that happened from this tragedy was how much closer to God I’ve gotten and how much more faith I have now. I know He will provide for us. He’s proven it to me with those unexpected checks and how we always have enough to get by.
Sometimes I still have checks cross in the mail, but learning to stand on your own two feet can be satisfying. It’s like when you move out of your parent’s house and get your own place for the first time. It’s just more stressful now knowing there’s another life depending on you. I’m so glad I have God on my side and parents and friends who care and support me. May God bless you all and may you always have enough.
Written by Jill Kola-Innes, a single parent at Single Mothers Outreach. Read her bio here.
