God’s Perfect Timing
Jesus, for your birthday I would like to thank you for your perfect timing that has been evident in my life. While I know I don’t see everything that has happened to reveal your perfect timing, I want to share what I can so that you might be glorified.
I got married 1 week after I graduated college. I was working at a bank part time and would have liked to come on full time, but they didn’t have any open positions. So, I searched for anyone who would take a 22-year-old with a BS in Mathematics and no experience. And the lucky company turned out to be Bankers Life, an insurance company specializing in health insurance for senior citizens. Somehow I didn’t see how I could use my degree in this field, but I pushed forward believing I was following your will. The next five and a half months were some of the hardest in my life and in that of Amber (my wife). We were struggling to figure out this thing called marriage, I was working 10-12 hours per day, we had no cable, and we were both struggling with my addiction. On the other side, those five months were the most mind-filling months of my life. I was soaking up insurance information like a sponge. I learned about all kinds of life and health insurance, investments (or so they told me), sales techniques, how to drive in Tulsa, and that it actually did make a difference if I ironed my shirt or not.
In one of those desperate times where we couldn’t pay the bills, were living off the generosity of my mother and her kitchen, and still had to get up at 7am for that next sales meeting to tell my whole company that I didn’t sale anything again that week, it happened. Amber opened the mail to find a check from an internet company that neither of us had ever heard of. The letter accompanying the check simply stated that I had been a part of a class action law suit and we had each one a portion of the damages we incurred against this websites’ fraudulent charges. The check was enough to pay some bills and put food on the table. And while I didn’t know the company I had been in a lawsuit against, or have any memory of every agreeing to be a part of a class action law suit, I knew that the company dealt in smut. Jesus, when we needed it the most, you used my sin to meet our needs and bring glory to your name. There were other times when we would receive an unexpected check from an insurance company or relative to help get us through.
There came a point where we realized that we would be better off financially if I just stayed home. I was spending so much money in gas, cell phone bills, tolls, and lunch/dinner on the run that we just couldn’t keep up with it. I remember Amber made a very simple budget once. She wrote down all the bills that her job could pay for, and brought me a list of the rest. She said, “There, do you think you can make $400 a month?” I responded with such defeat, “I just don’t know.” So one late Thursday night, I brought all the materials back to the office. I separated my leads, which were a valued commodity in that business. I gave most to my manager, but I put a few in some people’s boxes who I thought really deserved them. As I drove home, the gravity of what I had just done struck me hard. I had no job, not even the prospect of a job. I had a wife at home whom I knew I was failing. I was tired, defeated, depressed. I hadn’t talked to you in months except the frequent “I’m sorry” and “Forgive me” because I had become addicted to sin and my own pleasure. But you still cared for me and your timing really started to shine through. That very night, just after we went to sleep, we got a call from my sister that my mom was in dire need of my help, the ambulance was already there and I needed to come over as soon as possible. It turned out that she had a seizure, which turned into two seizures that night followed by a weekend-long hospital stay. I was the only one able to stay with her the whole time because I didn’t have a job. She got out of the hospital Monday night and I decided that I would start my job hunt the next day.
After two days of filling out applications and reading the paper and internet posting, I didn’t have any prospects. That Thursday I got a call from a friend from high school I hadn’t seen in almost 5 years. He tracked me down by calling my mom from an old school directory. He said something like “Hey I know you were always good at Math, and I was just wondering if you needed a job. My dad owns a company that needs an accountant and you don’t need any experience. We’ll pay you $12 an hour plus overtime. Are you interested?” Was I interested?!?! I just about jumped out of my skin. Oh, and did I mention that it was within walking distance from our house? I started the next day by taking home a company laptop to look over a new software program called QuickBooks. I had never heard of it before, but I was up for the challenge. While I was only there for four months, you helped me learn basic accounting principles, two new software programs, and so much more.
As it turned out, the owner of the company was a financial planner. I interacted with him about once a week or so to get the reports up to speed, ask for more money, etc. One day I just made a mention that I had an interest in investments, and it was like a light bulb came on over Tracey. Later that week he asked me if I would be interested in coming to work for him directly in the financial planning world. I wrestled with the decision to leave a job I loved and clearly got by God’s providence for a more stable job with great benefits, but with a little less take home pay. I eventually accepted and started working as a beginner financial planner. The program that I signed up for was only for recent college graduates with certain degrees (Math being one of them). Recent meant it was within a year of their graduation. I started with AXA 11 months after my graduation. Jesus your timing is perfect!
I continued on this program for the full 18 months. During this time I took the first two accounting classes because Tracey had connected me with a small business which needed bookkeeping services. At the end of the program it was expected that I would go on full commission with the company. If I met certain quarterly goals, I could keep my benefits. I was gung ho about all this for the first week. But on the 7th day of being on full commission, I hydroplaned off the road going 75 mph into a cement culvert sitting at 0 mph. The car was totaled, my ankle was broken, and I was unable to work. It was hard to see your perfect timing during those days, but a couple of weeks before I was going to miss my quota, I met a CPA/Attorney who liked my bookkeeping work and knew my situation. He promised me that he could help me make $40,000 over the next year and $100,000 the following year. He sealed the deal by giving me a $500 deal that very next week. It was at this time that I said for the first time, “God’s timing is perfect” and really meant it from my heart.
Much to my surprise, the deal with the attorney pretty much ended as fast as it started. I spent the next couple of years making my way as an independent financial advisor. I remember when I got this harebrained idea to go back to school to get a master’s degree. It was an impossible task before me and Amber: Work more than full time on a commission only basis, supporting myself and Amber who was in school full-time, then add 2 hours of homework a night. We were told to do it now before we had kids, but low and behold Amber got pregnant with 17 months of the program to go. I remember the conversation we had when we both agreed that we were ready to be parents. What perfect timing you have. Even though it was really hard to add a newborn to our impossible situation, you worked it out so beautifully. I wouldn’t be where I was at today without my MBA. Julia was about eight months old when I finished the program, which was the perfect age because, although she needed me her whole life, she was just getting to the age where she was alert and interacting all the time.
Right after Julia was born, you laid it on my heart to go to work for ConocoPhillips. I began applying right away, but it wasn’t until I graduated that your perfect timing came through again. I had told some of my professors of my desire to work at COP. One of those professors called one day out of the blue and asked if I was interested in working at COP. He told me COP was going to host a recruiting day at OWU for the first time ever. I attended “ConocoPhillips Day” in October and found out that the earliest graduating date to qualify for the position they were offering was December. And you worked out the timing perfectly because I was supposed to graduate in August, but there was a mess-up in the registrar’s office and I couldn’t graduate until December. What perfect timing.
A week before starting at COP, we were taking a family vacation to Branson, MO. About a half a mile from our final destination we got into a wreck that totaled our SUV, although this time I was not at fault. Julia was riding in the back seat in her car seat. Had it not been for Amber lowering her visor about 5 minutes before, she would have been sprayed with glass from the impact. We had to work quickly to make sure everything got out of the SUV before the tow truck got there. When we finally made it to the room where we were staying, we were exhausted; mentally and physically drained. That was the night we found out the Amber was pregnant with Lydia. Swarms of emotion piled around us, both excited and scared. We certainly weren’t planning on getting pregnant at that time, nor did we try to have our daughters 19 months apart. But at the same time we knew we would love this little person with all that we had and that you would bless our child and us.
Several months later we decided to start looking for a different house for our growing family. We ended up finding a great house in our price range that was even listed by our realtor. One problem, we needed to sell our house before we could by it. So the seller first accepted a contingent offer, then that offer ran out and they wouldn’t accept another contingent offer. So we thought we had lost the house. Then we accepted an offer on our house. By that time, the house we loved was still on the market, and they had lowered their asking price. So we ended up getting the house we wanted for almost $5K less than we originally had offered. Your timing astounds me.
Just before it was time to close, it was time to have a baby. Lydia Catherine came into this world in the “worst of times” according to my standards. We were packing, moving, chaotic, and just crazy. The sellers of our new house caused us a lot of grief, so we had to postpone closing for a week and live with my mom after we closed on our first house. Then we were unpacking, painting, cleaning, and taking care of a 19 month old. But God, in your divine knowledge and wisdom, Lydia was born at just the right time. Her sister loved her like I have never seen anyone love another human being. She doesn’t remember any of that craziness. Lydia helped us keep all things in perspective at that critical time in our lives. Thanks, Dad. What a gift Lydia is to me.
After 15 months at COP, I got laid off. I knew you had something else in mind. So after 4 months, I found a job in Houston with Siemens, which happened to be on a global hiring freeze. But you knew all that when I got laid off. We ran out of money the week before I got my first paycheck. My brother let me/us stay with him and in his duplex rent free for the first few months here. My boss is excited about my potential. I love my job. And I am paid 1/3 more than at COP.
And here we are, starting a new adventure, waiting on your next perfect timing event to become evident. We don’t know exactly what you are doing all the time, but if we were able to drive down the road of life looking in our rear view mirror, we would never have cause to question your perfect timing.
Love, your son.
