A Change in Location, but Not a Change in Situation

It was finally time for me to move off campus and into my first apartment. There was no way I was moving home. That was my last resort. I moved into an apartment with a girl I didn't know. I prayed that I would be able to make my rent every month and God was so faithful to my prayer. I never went a month without being able to pay for my rent.

I will never forget how I made my first rent payment. Since I didn't have a car then, I had to walk to work. It took me forty-five minutes to get there and back. I lost a lot of weight during this time. I worked as a hostess. I just moved into the apartment and my rent was due soon. I calculated that I would have just enough in my paycheck to make it through the month. I was getting ready for work one day and I never had this happen before. I forgot what time I was supposed to go in to work. The 4:00p.m. shift or the 6:00p.m. shift. I called my store at 2:00p.m. that day and my general manager answered the phone. He explained to me that the store was closing for good. I will have to find a new job and he offered to talk to a manager of a restaurant next door from where I worked. I was in tears. How was I going to make it financially? It was so hard to find a job. I didn't have much experience.

I remember taking a whole day off of work when I was a hostess and walking around in the hot sun wearing dark clothes and filling out application after application. I didn't get one call back. I walked across two of the busiest streets in Honky Tonk Ville trying to find a job. I applied to all types of jobs. I almost had a college degree and no one would hire me. Later on, I found out that most people knew that the store was closing for three days and no one called me about this. I felt okay about this because the managers that I had were irresponsible. I knew this so it wasn't a surprise to me. They were so rude and I was excited because I didn't want to work there anymore, but sad because I didn't know how I would make my rent. I was so discouraged because I couldn't find another job before, I didn't think I was going to find one even with my general manager helping me.

I relaxed for a day and didn't do anything. I mostly prayed and told some people that I was looking for a new job. They were faithful to pray with me. God is so faithful! These people who prayed for me weren't the most healthy people to be around, but they were the only ones who I could see to be my friends at this time. My focus will be on one of these people. Her name was Thandie. Thandie loved to help people. She loved to stay busy, but one thing that I had to compromise on with her that I will never compromise on again is cleanliness. Thandie was and probably still is a McNasty. She was kicked out or "removed" from discipleship before I was and we were friends off and on at that time. Her actions and words were so abusive. I was so thankful for the break from her, but I still questioned if she was really my friend or not. I will not go into a description of how nasty she is because I have learned that everyone is nasty, but some are more nasty than others. They don't realize they are being nasty most of the time. They are doing what is normal to them or they just don't care. I will get into the subject of not caring about how nasty you are later.

Thandie's car was uuuhhhhhh gross. I wanted to vomit sometimes when I rode with her. There are people who are messy and then there are people who are nasty and she was definitely nasty. Food stuck to her floor and in different parts of the car. The moldy aroma filled the atmosphere. The worst part is she couldn't let her windows down. It was horrible, but I never complained because she was giving me a ride. I compromised. She was also verbally abusive to me. She yelled at me and I thought everything was my fault. I didn't like being yelled at, but that is what I felt like I deserved.

A week after I got laid off, I got a job working at the restaurant across the street. It was so awesome! Timing is truly everything. I kept calling the restaurant and asking for the manager that my old general manager told me to talk to, but she was always busy. Instead of just relying on that job, I walked into a restaurant across the street one morning to fill out an application. The manager told me to come back at 3:00 that day. I walked to the restaurant from my apartment and got there at 2:50. One of the trainers walked up to me and said, "Oh my, you are early." She took me around the restaurant and introduced me to everyone. She even talked to me about filling out some paperwork and getting my uniform. At that very moment, the truth came out. I told her that I hadn't had an interview yet. She sat me down and told her manager what she did. Her manager, who was a different manager than who I talked to that morning, approached me and looked at my application. He asked me three simple questions and then told me I was hired. I filled out the paperwork and was given my uniform. The girl that was supposed to show up at 3:00 arrived at 3:45 and didn't last for more than two weeks. Two days after I got my job, the manager of the restaurant that was next door to the restaurant I worked for called me about a job. I was able to tell them that I already had a job.

I hated being friends with the people I was friends with at this time. I remember getting on my knees in my apartment and praying for friendship, real friendship. I hated being alone, but it certainly enriched my prayer life and my relationship with God. I know now I can be a better friend to others because I am a better friend to God.