Tough Times ...

Last Friday I went to the State Building to follow up on our permit application at work. I was greeted with this sign on the closed door. I had forgotten that it's Furlough Friday not only for teachers but for all State workers here on Hawaii.

I took a photo of the sign, and as I was texting the photo to my Twitpic account, a lady came up to the door with a perplexed look on her face. I smiled. She smiled back and asked "Is this the office where I can apply for Food Stamp?" I said "Yes, I think so, but it's closed today". She paused, then awkwardly said "this is my first time to apply for a food stamp. I am a teacher and I work so hard all these years...." She went on to tell me some more personal stories. I can tell she was a little embarrassed about having to apply for a food stamp so I told her I understand. Times are tough....

As she was telling me her story, tears fell down her eyes. "There's just no work out there" she said. She used to tutor and she used to turn down offers because she has so many. Now, no one is hiring....

She apologized for telling me too much. I told her she didn't need to apologize. I am glad she told me and that she was able to get that load out of her heart even by just talking about it. I was there to listen.

I gave her the name of the tutoring organization where my son used to go. I told her to call and see if they have any opening. Unfortunately, most likely there is none.

The above is just one example of a "tough times" we have. There are more within our midst. Just last week, we found out that our friend has cancer and prognosis was not good. We are praying and trusting God for a miracle. Then there's the earthquake in Haiti. That was horrible....

Times are tough ... we need to hang on ... we need to hold on to our faith...