Hope amidst disheartening news

The last couple of days have delivered me a couple of depressing pieces of news. First, I learned yesterday that I will no longer qualify for paid sick leave from my union's sick bank. The sick bank is a voluntary program that my union offers, where sick days are donated by members from time-to-time and those days are then made available to members who have serious illnesses. The sick bank has helped me enormously over the last nine years. I am very thankful for the sacrifice that my fellow teachers have made to help me survive thus far without a major financial hit. However, I had reached the limit of days allowed last week. There was a discussion of a policy change that might have allowed me to continue to withdraw days, but I learned yesterday that it wasn't going to happen.

As a result, I have a number of decisions to make. I have known this was a possibility since October, so I have been planning for how I would survive the $15,000 plus reduction in my salary over the next five months. I have a plan that will get me through this time, but not without feeling the financial pain involved. For that reason, I am looking at things like possibly trying to find a cheaper place to live in the meantime, but it would have to be a significant drop in rent to make it worth the change, and that would likely result in a significant drop in my quality of life.

At the moment, I don't have a good alternative to my original plan, but I am praying about it and trying to leave my options open, so I don't close off any avenues. I'd appreciate your prayers as I consider what this all means and what the Lord would have me do for the rest of this school year, and going forward.

The other disheartening news that I received today was the executive order, which also wasn't a surprise, banning all refugees for a time and Syrian refugees indefinitely. I am disheartened because I believe that our common humanity demands that we stand with refugees who have been driven from their homes by tyranny and war. I also am saddened, because I believe that there is a work of the Holy Spirit going on that is bringing people who would have lived with no real contact with the Gospel in their home country to a place where there are true Christians willing to show them what it means to love like Christ, but a procedural wall is being erected to keep them away. It is very sad to me that it has come to this point.

However, in both situations I have not lost hope. The same God who got me through the last nine years is there for me now. All of you have supported me with your words of encouragement, prayers and generosity for nine years. I'm not in immediate financial distress, but I know that I have family and friends who are looking out for me.

Likewise, while I am saddened by the changes our country is implementing, I know that there are lots of people still will to stand in the gap. For example, the people of World Relief and the churches that work with them are going to continue their mission to help refugees regardless of where they come from or their religion, because that's what Christ called us to do (see the parable of the Good Samaritan.) I will continue to support the mission of World Relief, even in my financial distress, because I know that my distress is nothing compared to that of people whose homes have been destroyed by war, or their lives threatened by dictators or homicidal war lords. If our country will no longer accept these people, it doesn't mean that we can't reach out to those already here and those across borders to those looking for a place of safety and love.

Thanks for standing by me these last nine years, and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me going forward.