So close but yet so far away.

“For every gift that God gives you in your life, the Devil will place two obstacles in your way to keep you from moving forward.” Betty Sue McLeod

So today I attended a second round call back for one of the jobs I had applied for last week. I arrived early and was dressed very smartly in one of the shirts I got from Gifts of the Heart and one of the two jackets I was lucky enough to get there as well. I aced the initial interview, impressed my two handlers who went out to evaluate me. I impressed in the final interview section and received glowing praise from my handlers. They told me that I had the job! Then they told me the hours and that pretty much blew my elation out of the waters.

See, currently my Wife and I have only one car. We cannot afford another vehicle right now. Well, let me modify that statement. We cannot afford a vehicle that would pass the very stringent Virginia Safety and Emissions Standards without spending even more money getting the car up to spec. So my Wife has to be at work at 0700 hours Monday-Friday and gets back to Woodbridge, VA around 1630-1730 every afternoon. There can be some slight variable in that schedule but not a lot. So when I was told that My hours would be from 1130-1800 hours Monday-Friday, my heart sank because I knew that there was very little chance of us being able to work that out.

Sure enough, after She spent several hours working at the problem we couldn't find a single solution that would work for us. We looked at bus schedules, train schedules and even pondered Her riding with her best friend to her house and waiting for me there until I got off work. This was the most viable plan but would involved spending money we don't have on a lot of gas plus putting 500+ miles a week of wear and tear on the car. In the end, we decided that it just wasn't possible. So I called my Interviewer and informed him that I would be unable to take the job.

Now a part of me is truly worried. What if all of the jobs I might find are of similar make? Without a car, it is going to be more difficult than I believed to find a job that works for both of us. My Wife's job must always have top priority because her income is significantly higher than anything I could possibly hope to make, at least for the first year or so. What if I can't get a job that will allow us both to use the car?

Of course, ideally we should just get another car, but that goes back to the old Catch 22 idea. I need a car to get a job, but I need a job to get a car. With two house notes and bills for two houses, we just don't have the kind of money to buy or even get a loan for the kind of car that might possibly be drivable in this city. It is beyond frustrating to say the least.

Still I have faith that something good will happen. I know that we came to this city for a reason and I have come too far to give up now. I just have to keep trying, praying and hoping. Any happy thoughts and prayers sent our way would be greatly appreciated. We most certainly need all the help we can get. God will provide if I just have faith.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.