Friday, February 20, 2015

Overcoming....

I told y'all when I started this blog that I wanted to feature a mom every week. It's just something I want to do. I find that we can be the best kind of encouragement to each other.  Well first up is Angie! I knew her in high school. She was a year younger than me but was one of the sweetest, funniest gals ever!! I'm loving getting to know her better and reconnecting via Facebook.  I hope you enjoy her story! I did!

ANGIE:
About 5 years ago I was faced with a mortgage, a car payment and insurmountable debt...alone. I was finalizing my divorce and I "got to" keep the house, car and credit cards of course. I am a teacher by trade so money was tight every single month. Now, single, with 2 daughters, money was basically gone. I knew in my heart that I would eventually be better. Better for myself and better for my girls, but during that time, I wasn't better. I was a mess. I was drowning in debt, emotions and day to day that I barely survived.
I was a zombie going through daily life, barely interacting in meaningful ways, with others. Anyone who's been through divorce knows this time. Knows the numb, hollow place where your heart used to be. Knows the feeling of life swallowing you up and honestly wishing it to.
I'll spare you the details but eventually you snap out of it. You look your angels in the face and say "I'm going to live for them. I'm going to ask God for strength for the day, the hour, the minute, the second." Because they need you. They need to see their mom overcome and be their mom. Their mom who will provide for them and pray for them and be there for them. So that's what I did. Through much prayer and support from my friends, family and church, I got up. I did life again. And eventually started to feel like myself again.
Kids can do that to you. Jesus can do that to you. Give you hope. Give you a reason. A reason to interact with others. A reason to live and grow and be better. So I did. I lived. I did life daily.
Once I realized ending the month in the red wasn't healthy (I had started to emotionally, spiritually and physically take care of myself (more on the physical part in a minute)), I began to pray for ways to earn extra income to pay off the debt I had. I made lists of bars and restaurants I might possibly bartend at on Thursday nights and every other weekend. There were placed like that right? Haha wrong!
A few months before I signed up to become an ambassador for a company called Plexus Worldwide. I signed up for the discount ONLY. I figured if I could at least get this stuff cheaper it would be worth it, right? I started taking the products and lost maybe 4-5lbs. Not what I was looking for! Quite honestly I wasn't doing my part. I wasn't drinking enough water, eating healthier, or even working out.
I kept praying for an opportunity for a second job. Something where I could make some extra money to pay off debt. In the back of my mind and even heart perhaps, I heard this small voice saying "what about Plexus?" After 3 more months of praying about the second job, I finally listened. I started taking the products consistently. I drank my water everyday. I started working out again. I lost another 10lbs and went down a pant size! I even ran a half marathon! By June, I jumped. I decided to start sharing the health I felt because of Plexus. By August I was making enough to pay for my products plus my water and power bills! Whoo!!! You can't imagine the feeling of making just a little extra every month. My business continued to grow and so did my paycheck. Every month I got a raise! I mean, I love my teaching job but I've never received a raise that frequently! As my paycheck continued to grow, my debt diminished. I could breathe again. I could buy my girls things for school and clothes and shoes as they grew out of them instead of waiting it out (you know where you wait "just a few more weeks because the weather will change" waiting it out). I was able to start saving for retirement and possibly even a vacation! This past summer, I took my family of 9 to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We stayed in a terrific condo and had such fun. I was pregnant at the time (surprise) and in November married a great friend from high school whom I had been dating.  In just 5 weeks we will add to our family. A baby boy will join our brood of 4. Yep you read that right! 5 kids!! We are almost the Brady Bunch but will not actually be them. We're stopping at 5. LOL. Plexus has blessed my family with health. Plexus has blessed my family with wealth to save for land and a home and provide for them in ways I never dreamed.
 I don't mean to give Plexus the credit because I know that the same savior who saved me when I was 9 years old is the same savior who nudged me. Provided an opportunity to take care of my family through Plexus. Christ is the same Savior who brought Jason back into my life. And while we may not have "created" our family the way some perceive to be "right," we are blessed. We aren't perfect but there is an awful lot of love in this house. And there will be more very soon!

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