The Flavor of Favor

Chapter 13

The Turbulent Moments

One afternoon in August of 1999, I arrived at my home health aide job only to be informed that my patient would be going away on vacation for about two months beginning the next day, and that I would not be working until he returns. This meant that I would not be making any money from the job.

                             I left for my second job as a guard at the construction site and when I got there I was shocked to find a new security guard I had never met on duty. He introduced himself and told me that the agency had asked him to come to the site, he said that the dispatcher wanted me to call the office when I got there. I went to the phone hooked on the wall in the dusty construction area and dialed the office.  "Hello," a voice answered at the other end.  "This is Emmanuel, I just got here and I was told to call the office."

"Yes, that's right. We are taking you off that site, he said. We need someone who can work the site from four to twelve.  We will try and find you another site that fits your schedule. "Ok," I said meekly. “How soon will you find me another site with the same schedule?”
“I don’t know yet. But, we’ll call you as soon as something comes up.”  

I hung up the phone, waved good bye to the new guy and left the site with a heavy heart.

                             I went to my night shift job and worked until the following morning. When my shift was over, the supervisor, who also lived in the apartment complex called me, "Emmanuel, I want to have a word with you," he said and motioned me to come into his office.  I got to his office, feeling nervous and hoping that everything was okay.

                         "I am sorry, I have to let you go," he announced, looking stoic.

                         "What did I do?" I asked.  "Someone reported to me that you were sleeping on the job."

                        "That cannot be true. I don’t sleep on the job. I can't sleep because there is a camera directed straight      at the desk.  If I slept you would see it on the tape.  Please review the tapes, you will find out the truth."

                       "I am sorry; I still have to let you go.”

                       “Who told you that I was sleeping?”

                        “It doesn’t matter who told me.”

                          “If they said I was reading or studying on the job. That is true.  But I don’t sleep on the job. You need  to review the tapes.”

                        “Listen to me, you are still very young. You need to go and do something better with your life than this job.  Go finish your school."

                      "But I need this job to help me with my school.  Without this job I can't pay my rent, I won't be able to buy gas in my car. Please don't do this to me."

                       "The decision has been made.  Please hand over your keys." 

I slowly removed the keys from my key chains, handed it over to him and left the premises with bitterness of heart and abject melancholy.

                             I felt as if the devil was just on a personal mission to destroy me.  I had lost three jobs within twenty four hours.  I didn't believe it was a natural course of event.  I strongly believed it was a spiritual attack from the pit of hell.  How could I be working so hard, juggling three jobs, never late to any of them, struggling hard to make money the right way, yet  I lost all three jobs within twenty four hours?  None of these jobs or the supervisors were related, yet one thing or the other led to the same result, joblessness, unemployment within one day.  My worst fear had materialized, what I feared most had encompassed me.  

                             I was too tired and too disappointed to pray on that day and many days afterwards.  I was completely and utterly depressed.  I dialogued with God in my heart and rationalized that may be it was because of certain sins I had committed or may be there were some people somewhere cursing me and desperately praying for my downfall, yet I could not figure out an answer.

                         During this trying period, I wrote a poem of prayer, I titled “Turbulent Moment”

I feel desolate and afflicted

What sins have I committed?

To deserve these punishments?

Yet, in praising God I would not relent

I am dreadfully lonely and desperately sad

I hope to have a better life than the one that I had

But now I feel very bad

Yet in God, I will trust for He will make me glad.

I wonder what went wrong,

Everyday I hear the same old song

I ponder about my afflictions all day long

But still I praise the lord all along.

I know that God is always by my side

Under His name will I hide

Beneath His shadow will I abide

Whenever I remember this I feel complete inside.