Cargill has recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey processed in their Springdale, AR facility. A plant in which my husband used to work (2000-2002). A plant which called him in the last go around of job searching for him to interview for the QA Manager position. But, he already had started his new job and said, "No, thank you." My husband calls it "dodging a bullet." I like to think of this as God's providence. You see, in 2002, he was laid off from that plant and it really wasn't a good time. I had been teaching at a private school which didn't pay much anyway, but was off for the summer and not getting any paycheck. We had just gotten married a month and a half prior when I got the phone call from my new husband. He said, "I got a pink slip today. We are moving in two weeks to Minnesota. Call my mother. This is the name of the local newspaper, see if you can find us a place to live, not in the NE section of town." There was no discussion, there was no input from me, this was the way it was going to be. Two weeks came, we loaded a truck, his dad came down to help drive the truck and we all drove up to MN with no place to live, no jobs, and very little money. That was Sunday. Monday, we looked for a place to live. Tuesday, we moved in. Wednesday, the husband and his dad drove back down to AR to get the last car and bring it up while I unpacked our boxes and tried to arrange our stuff that was all together for the first time.
Those were lean times. We almost had to declare bankruptcy and really had to work to stand each other some days. He got a job first, pretty much the job he had left when he went down to AR, I started substitute teaching and then got a part time retail job as well. We made things work and little by little they got better. We were there in MN for five years, until Ben finished the one class he needed to get a BS degree. Then, he got a QA Supervisor job and we moved again to CO. After a year there things happened that were outside our control and we moved again to MO. After 2.5 years there, things happened that were mostly outside our control and we were again faced with moving. Can I tell you how much I hate moving? I do, really! So, each time we moved I didn't like it...okay, I was better with some moves than others. lol But, it wasn't fun, I didn't enjoy it and probably complained more than I should have. But, had Ben's current employer been slower in hiring him, he may have interviewed and taken the job at the Springdale plant. And had he been the QA Manager now, he wouldn't be any longer. He'd have been fired, I am sure, and not allowed to work in the industry again. And the kicker is, that it would have already been going on before he got there, because I am pretty sure that the QA Manager that was there, wasn't there when they first should have caught the problem. Granted, it shouldn't have gone on as long as it did, but that's not the point of my story.
So, the next time you (or I) complain about something that's going on that's "not my fault but I'm suffering for it" know that it might just be God protecting you from something down the road. God really does work out all things for good for those that love Him. (Romans 8:28).
I loved this!
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