How Tragedy Led Me to a Job I Love

In May of 2008, I thought life was going pretty good for me.  I had a great job with the State of Louisiana, a great part time job at Bass Pro Shops that I absolutely love, I was going to college full-time trying to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications/Public Relations, and I had great friends.  Within a month however, things starting taking a downward turn.  It almost seemed like it was the beginning of the end.

My first bit of bad news came in the form of having my vehicle repossessed in June.  Fortunately, with the help of some of my friends, I was able to obtain another vehicle within a few days of losing the first one.  Only problem was, I had no idea what was to come. 

In July, the Governor of Louisiana decided that the higher education systems in our state must begin undergoing massive budget cuts.  This meant that many employees would soon begin to lose their jobs.  At that time, I was working for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System which oversaw all of the community and technical colleges in Louisiana.  When these forced budget cuts hit our system, I was the first one to be laid off.  I was devastated over this action.  I was 46 years old, divorced, and living on my own.  I had no idea what I was going to do or what would happen to me.  I felt as though I was too old to have to start a new job or career and that my whole world was beginning to fall in on top of me. I didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills. I had also been on medical leave of absence from my part-time job due to a foot injury and was not scheduled to go back to work until after the 1st of August. 

One week after being laid off, I had an appointment with a foot specialist only to find out that my Achilles tendon was torn and I would have to be in a cast for 3-4 weeks.  I was to have a cast put on that day, but because I had worn jeans to my appointment, the casting specialist decided to wait until the next day to put my cast on.  As I was leaving out from the doctors’ office parking lot, I was hit broadside by another driver, had my vehicle flipped over on its side, and spun around in a completely different direction.  I had to literally kick out my front windshield and crawl out of my vehicle with no assistance from anyone.  I was sent to the emergency room for general precautions.  While in the emergency room awaiting x-rays and to see the doctor, the Louisiana State Trooper that worked my accident came in to see me.    He had no compassion for what had happened to me and would not let my best friend’s husband continue praying for me on the telephone.  I was so upset at this point that I felt like I was being punished by God for being a bad person.  I had no idea that as the months went by, how much I would learn to lean and depend on Him more than I ever had in the past.