HS

Ahhh...the days of High School.  Remember those?

This post is actually not about High School, but about something possibly a bit more mysterious and quite frankly scary at times...the Holy Spirit.  I hope that you will bear with me for this one, because I'm really excited about this story.

Dec of 2010...It was a Sunday afternoon I think...My mom dragged me to Hancock Fabrics for something.  While we were there I saw one of my designers **gosh I can't tell a story in order...I call her "my designer" because I am a sales rep and she is an Interior Designer that I call on.  Now at that time I was working outside of the design/construction industry...not by choice, but because the economy had tanked and no one was hiring**  So I saw her and she mentioned that a particular company (they sell commercial carpet) was hiring and she wanted to recommend me for the job.  I'll just say that I didn't get overly excited because I had applied for a lot of positions over the past year and nothing had worked out.  It was a great company that she mentioned so I was going to try for sure, but I didn't get my hopes up.  Less than 3 weeks later I was on a plane headed to training.

This job/company was 100% sent from God and I have a million reasons why.  One of those reasons is our sales rep in Arkansas.  Her name is Shannon.  We started the same day in training.  She covers the entire state of Arkansas, and I cover the entire state of Mississippi.  Since there are really no other co-workers in the state, this job can get lonely if you let it.  It's important to have other reps to chat with and run ideas by.

So we set out into our new businesses and chatted on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

I shared with her after our 20 week sonogram that the doctor found some issues and we were referred to a specialist.  At the time I knew Shannon and her husband had 2 kiddos...one boy; one girl.  She then shared with me that she had another son.  His name is Max.  He was born with a condition called Trisomy 18 and only lived a very brief time on Earth.  We chatted about it that day and didn't go into too much detail.  I don't remember exactly when we really talked about it...it's been over time I suppose.

Remember I had promised myself not to Google anything.  I made it a day or two after that without looking at anything on the internet and then I did it...late one afternoon something was urging me to look it up.  I only looked up Trisomy 18.  I needed to know more.

Fast forward to the trip to the specialist.  That was on a Tuesday.  I was sitting in that chair listening to the doctor tell us that there was an indication of a chromosomal abnormality.  I knew in my heart what it was.  I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it already.  I didn't tell Adam or my mom at the time because I didn't want them to think I was just being negative.

Wednesday goes by...Thursday goes by and the doctor called late that night to give us the initial results.  They wouldn't change with the final results.  Trisomy 18.  I knew it before he said it. 

We have come a long way since that night.  The Lord has found a way to give us a sense of peace.

At the time all of this was happening I didn't realize it, but now I know that the Holy Spirit not only put Shannon in my life to help me through this but also to let me know what we were dealing with slowly so that I didn't have a breakdown.  She's been a rock for me.  I know I can call her anytime and she is always happy to listen or calm me down.

We could go into some statistics about how many babies are born with Trisomy 18 or how many sales reps our company has, but it's of no use.  The Lord brought us together, and I am so thankful for her everyday.

How much do you wanna bet that the next time my mom wants to drag me to Hancock Fabrics that I will go willingly?  Who knew the Holy Spirit would be at work in there?

C