007 | Hello / Goodbye

After five years of trying (and I use that term loosely), I've finally done it --- and by "it", I mean held a steady job. Since June of 2010 and until last week, my income has been wholly dependent on one Howard Schultz. That's right --- I was a drone to the corporate coffee hive. But as I much as I loved it (a term I use even more loosely), I'm afraid I've had to "pass the Buck" (terrible pun, I know) to somebody else in favor of a position with more favorable returns.

Two days ago, I was certified as a server at Macaroni Grill. This process consisted of my waiting three tables over the course of an hour in order to demonstrate to my supervisors that I was ready to be independent. When it was over, I left with forty dollars in my pocket. That's approximately what I used to make per week at Starbucks. Of course, we're only talking gratuity. In base pay, I was actually making more previously than I am now. But when it comes to tips like that, a bi-monthly check is just going to seem like a bonus.

It's unusual for me to be so concerned with money, but as of late I haven't really had a choice. Things just seem to be piling up financially. But I know better than to make it the be-all and end-all of my existence. In times of anxiety, I do my best to remember Jesus' words in Matthew 6: "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? But seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Verses 25, 27, 33-34)

To be honest, I'm grateful that money is my biggest concern right now. It beats dealing with all the health issues that have surfaced over the past year. Sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in trivial matters that we forget to slow down, take a step back, and reflect on what an incredible gift life itself is. I, for one, can easily say that that fact will never be lost on me again.