Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Other Side of the Glass

Hey everyone. I hope you are all doing awesome and are seeing God work in your lives! I certainly am.



I feel led to share with you a truly humbling experience I had this week and how I have grown from it. I hope it will mean something to you!



I have always been blessed in life. God has always met my needs. I have been able to go to college and get a degree to provide me with a salarly that provided well for me and my family.



However, because of the medical bills i am accumulating from the surgery and treatment, the nurse at Memorial suggested I try to get on medicaid the help with the bills. So.... on Tuesday, I found myself somewhere I never thought I would be, at family and children's services to be interviewed for financial help.



I have to say that this was a very hard thing for me, especially because I had a bad work experience there and knew the people "on the other side of the window." I don't know if you have ever been there but there is a hot, bare looking waiting room and then there is a glass with a little hole which the staff on the other side speaks to you through. You take a number, sit back down in one of those chairs that you have in school and , when your name is called, stand behind a line on the floor to talk to the person on the other side of the glass.



Well, I tell you, God was with me that day because I had only been there five minutes when someone pulled on the back of my scarve. It was one of my Spanish clients, a very nice lady whose daughter I have been seeing for about six months. She hugged me and I attempted to talk to her in very limited Spanish. She smiled and looked so glad to see me. I have to say it was a blessing that God sent a smiling familiar face and as I realized later, also a learning experience for me.



Well, when I went to the window, there was a man there who recognized me from when I was one of the ones "on the other side." He spoke and I told him my situation. My case worker came out and called my name and I followed him to has office. God was watchin over me though because, instead of being the typical overworked, underpaid DFACS worker, he was a young man with a degree in psychology who still had enthusiasm and wanted to try to make a difference in the world. He processed everything and I shared some about my situation. The visit went well, except for one glitch. When I got in the car, I realized that I had left my cell phone in his office! This is just one of those blonde traits that I am notorious for. So, I got back out of my car, entered the waiting room again and got in line behind the tape to go through the process again. Thankfully, the man I knew looked up saw me and Imotioned to him that I had left my phone. He made a quick call and the worker brought it out to me and I left. The funny thing was that he had called my cell phone to leave a message that I left it!



Well, when I got to the car, I realized a great deal. First, I realized how much the circumstances I have been in over the last few years has humbled me and that we never know when we will find ourselves on "the other side of the glass" and that it could happen to anyone! I also realized that , now, I can relate more to my clients and how they feel since for most of them, this is part of their daily lives. All this brought tears to my eyes.



The big picture is this. God is our father always teaching and molding us if we will just try to look at it from the right perspective! Everything that happens to us is, in the end in our best interest. And no matter what happens, nothing can separate us from the Love of God! We just have to let Him be the pilot and learn as we go!



Hope you got something from this as I did. If so, please comment. I always get the ones that are emailed.

Hugs to you all.

2 comments:

Judi said...

Michele ~ what an awesome testimony to how God is working through your illness. I'm sorry that you had to go through this, but what a blessing it turned out to be!! I would be right there with you if I didn't have Bryan's income. It's still quite difficult anyway. Have you heard back from them yet? I hope you get good news!! I love you girl!! Sending BIG hugs!!

Val said...

You are an amazing woman and yes I really got it- your message in this post. Thank you for sharing what the Lord is teaching you. This really makes you stop and think. And thank you for the info on the quilting class. Maybe one day when life slows down for me I might check that out.