Two Tired, Working Parents & Kids ~ Filling the Void

Today is one of those days where having both my husband and I working full time outside the home is really weighing heavily on our family. There’s something about being over-tired and trying to rush your kids out of the house to get to a job that you really don’t want to be at when the kids really don’t want to get up and go to school that makes it really hard to be positive. Wow – that was a lot of really’s. Days like this make me feel so guilty to be working so much, having to leave the kids in their young age with someone else all day and leaving them with the rush, rush, rush, grumpy, irritated, overwhelmed, let’s go now mentality and make me think extra hard about becoming a MAHMA (Mom-At-Home-Making-A Difference) with my Shaklee income. I’m tired of doing this to them. I know that as they get older, school will always be a part of their lives and some day work will be as well. But I want them to see that school and work can be positive. I try to make sure that they know that school is a fun place, where they get to learn and have fun with their friends – and a lot of their perception and attitude comes from T and I’s influence – so how do I make sure that they know that when I’m crying over having to leave them yet again when they seem to really need me home with them on days like today? I need to make a change. 

Yesterday, I received a daily bible message that quoted Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” This got me thinking. Am I serving God in my full-time daily work? Some may say yes as I make sure that the avenues are filled to make sure that employee’s and the company are/is receiving payment for their/our services and so forth. I make a good living and I have been very blessed by the flexibility and opportunity that I have been given to work in my family business. I could take it over some day in the near future and have a very comfortable lifestyle. But, I have a servant’s heart and my heart says no. So, I need to fill that void. I do believe that my void can/could be filled with my Shaklee business as it brings me joy to help people by sharing my passion for health and nutrition so that together we may improve their health, nutrition, lifestyle and feeling their best. When I hear how Shaklee has improved a friend or loved one’s pain, weight loss journey, or overall health I am beyond happy and fulfilled with being a part of that. And, as I progress into helping people create their own business and help them achieve dreams that they never dared or knew to dream, I know that my passion will be multiplied.  And further, when I get to share my earnings with a local non-profit that touches my heart, it excites me to see/hear their thankfulness so I look forward to the days that I get to do that on a bigger and larger scale. I love my Shaklee business. I just need to move beyond my fear and do it. I need to make a change.

That’s my current working story. Now, if we’re being honest, are you working for the Lord?

Violation of Your Life

Someone stole my purse on Sunday. I was in such a hurry trying to get ready for and executing an event, I didn’t even realize that it was stolen, but rather, assumed that I had left it inside and that I would grab it Monday morning. Then, I got the phone call Monday morning asking whether I had attempted to withdraw money from my account. It must be a mistake, I thought. Yet the bank has my ID and they can’t release it without a police report. I call the office in a panic – no answer. Look at my credit cards online. Yep. Someone definitely has my purse. The charges aren’t mine. I break down. I cry. I get angry. Then I start frantically calling every credit card company I can remember to shut down my cards, fighting the tears. File the police report (where I miss a bunch of information because I’m still too shocked that my purse, my life is gone). Get the run around from the police departments…. Meanwhile, I get a phone call from the police that the suspects attempted to use my bank card to withdraw money at a different bank location. Finally get the ability to go get MY ID back and find out that the thieves tried to get $2500 posing as me with my ID. Thankfully, the bank stopped them. Trying to think of everything that they may have accessed – change accounts… Wow. This is a mess. So many things on auto pay. Constantly thinking of more things that were in my purse… They didn’t just get my wallet with a few personal credit cards, they got our social security numbers, keys, checks, business credit cards, cash, paychecks… The list keeps going.

Now, four days later. I don’t even have a freaking wallet to put my new cards into. But that’s not what has me so upset. I feel violated. Not so much that my things are gone and I have to go through all this extra hassle during the holiday season. Yes, that’s a pain and irritating. But what REALLY has me bothered is that they had to have been watching me with my son. I was in a fairly private parking lot. So they were watching us from somewhere. Just waiting. Waiting for me to make a mistake? They didn’t break a window. I always kept my purse down on the floor in the back seat of the car in between using it and was pretty good about always keeping an eye on it. But as I said, I was in a hurry. We were away from the car for less than ten minutes. How did they know? It makes me sick to think how much worse things could have been. I am thankful and blessed that they weren’t. But now, I am still on edge thinking these people have my addresses. And how many other innocent people’s lives will they unravel? What would they have been willing to do to get my money? Where were they watching us from?

What I’m trying to get from this is NOT sympathy. I want people to realize how vulnerable we all are. To always keep your eyes on your children and your belongings. At the end of the day, I don’t really care about the purse and the things inside it. But they were watching something much more valuable than that. My children are my LIFE. And they were obviously watching me and my son. For that, I am working to find out who they are so that I can do what I can to stop this from happening to someone else. And so that I can rest a little easier with the thought that they will (hopefully) learn from their actions. Luckily, we have quite a bit of info that will hopefully help the police and bank fraud department catch them. Keeping my fingers crossed. And praying for them and for me.

With that I say; please be careful everyone. You never think it can or will happen to you until it’s too late. It just takes one mistake and a moment of distraction. But more importantly, if you spare the extra moment, even when you don’t have it, you can help avoid the headache and violation. You can’t stop theft from happening, but if you take precautions, you can lessen the risk.

I am blessed and thankful that it wasn’t much worse. And I am focusing on that and trying to take the positive from this situation. I just want this message out there to others. Especially during the holiday season…

On a much happier note, the following day, I was awarded for the THIRD time with a prize from the Shaklee 180 sweepstakes. Definitely helped lessen the blow of all I’ve been going through! 🙂