Abe's Courage

Almost three years ago we moved to Michigan for a new job.  It paid well, and it was a consistent pay check.  We were grateful to be able to pay off our debt, but the hours were horrible!  It was the norm for Abe to leave for work at 5:30 in the morning and not return until 1:30am.  Abe had to regularly drive across the entire southern portion of Michigan several times a week visiting kids in their homes.  He was a recruiter for a technical school.

Last spring, his job offered him a transfer position in Chicago- which was a coveted location because of the possibility to be closer to one of the main campuses.  The catch was that he would have to live in Chicago without us for 3-4 months.  He would not be allowed to visit us in Michigan, and we would only be allowed to visit him if his numbers were where the company wanted them.  

Abe turned down this offer and knew his superiors wondered about his loyalty to the company to turn down such a position.  He immediately began building on another business; and a few weeks later, he felt like it was time to quit his job and work full time in this other business.  This business would only offer a partial base pay and partial commission.  I felt uneasy about it all but supported Abe's decisions.  The support on my behalf for Abe to quit his job came but not easily because I love the security of a regular paycheck.

Yesterday, now months after Abe has been working this new job, I was lying on the couch and feeling a bit of anxiety over our current financial situation.  We still had food, gas, and were paying the bills, but I had a lot of questions about what would happen in the very near future.  Payments were not coming as we had hoped, and I began to pray intensely with worry.  I asked God for some direction and some understanding of our financial future.  I asked HIM very strongly for an answer.  

Right in the middle of my prayer, Abe called.  The timing of his phone call shocked me, and I was certain that because of my prayer he was calling with fantastic news that a check had finally come in.  Instead, Abe called to tell me that one of his co-workers from his old job had just been fired by the company.  His friend had no warning... in fact he was told by the company that they would only be assessing his current productivity over the next 60 days.  It had only been a few days; and because he had been hitting his numbers, he didn't see this coming at all.  Now... he had only a few short weeks to try to find other employment.  With no severance package, he and his family were facing a great deal of frustration, stress, and worry.

As I listened to Abe tell about his friend, the thought came very strongly to me that Abe would have been in the same situation had he not followed the Spirit in his efforts to find and build on a new occupation at the time that he did.  To me, it seemed like craziness to give up a well-paying job.  To Abe, he knew he was given the inspiration to righteously lead and financially care for his family, so he moved forward with courage.  He did something that did not seem like the smart choice by most, but he did it because he felt like that was what he should do at that time.

That phone call did 2 things for me:

1)  It gave me more confidence in my husband's decisions.

2)  It gave me more confidence in God's hand in our future as well.

I trust my husband as the head of our home, and I most certainly trust God as the ONE guiding my husband's righteous actions.  I thank God for answering my prayer and for helping me to see more clearly.