My Testimony: 2009-2014

I rarely cry, and especially not in front of others.  Yet, when Natalie was fired, I cried and begged my boss to give her another chance.  He would not, but not because of Natalie.  While looking for Natalie's replacement, a woman who had been a former volunteer when she was 19 or 20, interviewed for the open vet tech position.  It was very apparent the vet was enamored with the now thirty-four year old red head.  He acted as if his fantasy girl had come back to him.  He was as giddy as a schoolboy and hired her right after her interview.  The married man was never able to contain his lust for her and because of it, my job became unbearable.  He allowed her to sit in the office and text or read magazines while I did all the work.  She only helped with tasks that took two technicians, and even then, she kept right on texting.  In spite of the fact that she was the last one hired, she made the highest salary in the office (by quite a bit more) and even had paid benefits, though the rest of us did not.  It was not just the obvious favoritism and lack of work from someone that was supposed to be my partner that irritated me; it was the even more obvious exchange of dirty jokes, giggling, and flirting going on.  If he had not been a married man, it would have still been annoying simply because I had to work ten times harder for a much lower salary, yet seeing the affair happening right before my eyes sickened me.  The doctor had been an abusive boss long before then with his temper tantrums, grabbing and/or squeezing my hand when he was angry, swearing and throwing things, trying to look down my scrub top, etc.  I had put up with the abuse for 4 1/2 years because I needed the job and my animals needed me to work for a vet, but I could no longer stay in such a filthy environment.  I applied for many jobs for several months, and in August 2011, I was finally hired as a claims adjuster for a very busy pet insurance company.

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.  Colossians 3:23

Working in pet insurance was fairly easy and I was told I learned quicker than most.  However, soon after I mastered processing the simple claims, I was to move on the much tougher, more detailed ones.  Although I had passed the written exam required to even be considered for this job with a score of 98% (which I was told was very rare), I was having great difficulty with phase two of the position.  As you know, I never went to vet tech school and was trained on the job.  Most vet techs attend school for two years and learn a great deal about medicine.  Although, in my opinion, book knowledge does not make a good tech, experience does (even the above-mentioned unnamed doctor above told me I was one of the best techs he had ever worked with).  However, to be a claims adjuster, you must have the medical knowledge to make it.  I did all I could; I even studied on my time off, but it was not enough.  Four months in, and I was out! 
 

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,  Acts 3:19

I remember feeling pretty confused with God.  Why did I get hired on at a job I was told was nearly impossible to get, just to be fired so soon?  Nevertheless, thank God, I was approved for unemployment.  This cut my monthly income to less than half, but it was better than nothing.  After I quit feeling sorry for myself and quit blaming God, I was able to take this time of inactivity to basically hit the reset button.  After all I had gone through at the newspaper, police department, the vet, and now the insurance company, I had become increasingly bitter.  I desperately needed this time away from humanity to de-stress and refocus on God.  Don't get me wrong, I still worked very hard at putting out applications and resumes, but I got very few interviews, and zero job offers.  It was actually a very good thing I did not get hired for another job.  This became a time of refreshing and revival.  I had always retained my faith in God, but I had been lacking reading my bible and simply spending time alone with my Creator.  I used this down time to spend several hours not just reading the bible every day, but also really absorbing all I read and even reexamining some things I had been taught.  All of this was not just for my benefit, it was for the benefit of the man I was about to meet!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28
 

Three months into my unemployment, my mom told me about a new man that had been attending her bible study group.  She and others had tried setting me up before, and I usually refused.  Due to my parents' divorce and being rejected by men I had feelings for had caused me to develop a strong mistrust of relationships.  Yet, something inside me wanted to meet this man, and I even reminded her about it when she forgot.  The next thing I knew, I was heading over to my mom & Frank's house to meet a man named Mel.  I was so sure he would find me unattractive that I nearly cancelled, but I forged ahead and soon we were all sitting down to have pizza.  I was still feeling skeptical and was bound and determined to reject him first.  I wanted to find fault in him.  Yet, as he sat there talking about the things of God, I started to notice his adorable dimples, his charming smile, beautiful eyes, and I loved his Missouri-Arkansas accent!  I could tell by the way he could not take his eyes off me, that I was not going to be rejected, and I relaxed.  I could see that this handsome man was intelligent and spiritually sound.  As we were preparing to leave my mom's house, we exchanged phone numbers, and he asked me if there was any place around still open to get some coffee.  We decided to go to "Denny's" for tea and coffee, and from that day forward, we have been inseparable!
 

Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go. Song of Songs 3:4

It was all made crystal clear to me why I had to leave job after job based on a car accident, religious discrimination, sexual immorality, favoritism, and even the inability to perform my job duties.  Every single step led me to March 6, 2012, the day I met the man I was destined to marry.  The man for whom I had waited 39 years.  If I had not been unemployed, I never would have been able to spend a minimum of eight hours a day with Mel, and been completely in love with him within 8 days after our first meeting, and talking about getting married after 11 days.  (He is retired and does not need to work.)  In spite of all the mental and physical pain I had to go through, including fourteen years of living alone, it was all worth it just to be with my soul mate.
 

If you, then... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

Now, after years of misery and an uncertain future, I have a life full of peace and happiness.  God granted me the best gift of all.  My Mel rescued me from a life of dead-end jobs and abusive employers.  No longer did I have to spend my days daydreaming of the perfect man or having imaginary conversations with an imaginary husband, because Mel made all my dreams come true.  None of it would have been possible if not for the gifts from God.  He gave me the courage to speak out against some very powerful people, gave me the ability to retain knowledge quickly so I was able to perform well at some very tough jobs, and helped me to hang on long enough until He made a way for me to move on to a new position. God did not always give me victory, and it seemed I was always being defeated by the ungodly giants in my life, but God gave me the will to move ahead.  He implanted in me the desire to never let go of my relationship with Him, and to hold fast to my faith in spite of facing liars, back stabbers, adulterers, narcissists, etc.  He rewarded me greatly with the husband I had asked Him for.  A man who not only meets my expectations, but also exceeds them.  Mel is my spiritual leader and he has enhanced my spiritual walk.  It is one of the many reasons why our marriage works so perfectly.
 

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:9

So you see, although I went through many phases in my life where I wondered why I had to leave jobs I once had a passion for, it all had to be.  If I hadn't had a car accident that ultimately led me to leave the newspaper, I never would have worked at several other boring jobs that caused me to seek out a more exciting career.  I never would have found the job at the police.  If I hadn't been falsely accused, I never would have left the police and never would have gone to the vet.  If my boss hadn't had an affair at the office, I never would have left the vet and I never would have gone into insurance.  If I hadn't been fired from there, I never would have met Mel.  He is more precious to me than anything, and so worth the wait!!  I can't wait to see where God takes us next!

Note: I wrote this 3-part testimony in 2014, but I see now it is incomplete, I have more to add from the past 6 years, so I will post part 4 next week!