As I’m sure it has for everyone, my life during this quarantine has gone through some upheavals and changes.
At the end of March, when Portland’s stay at home order really began to take effect, the small business I worked at had to close their doors and lay off their employees. It was scary, but not hopeless. My employers gave me the name of someone I could work for part time until they opened their doors again. But that opportunity fell through, and suddenly I was without a job and hadn’t been working for two weeks.
As a new college grad that’s trying to start a life in a completely new place, it was terrifying. I couldn’t even collect unemployment because I couldn’t file online (since I had only worked in Oregon for four months), and the phone line always gave me a busy signal. And even if I had managed to file, my work history is made up of part-time, minimum wage jobs that wouldn’t allow me to qualify for anything.
On top of that, I didn’t qualify for a stimulus check either. I was claimed as a dependent on my 2019 taxes, because that was my status for 2019, and could not get the $1200 for adults. Nor could my parents get the $500 for me that was given to those with dependents, because that was only for children under 17. This whole mess left me in a very sticky financial place.
But here’s where I learned two things: God provides, and community is essential.
After two weeks of no work, I applied to every grocery store that was hiring in my area. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Luckily, Walmart hired me, and I only spent three weeks without a job. Now, working at Walmart was miserable for me. It was chaotic and exhausting, but I wasn’t going to complain because I needed money. I will say that I am very thankful to Walmart who hired me specifically because I had been laid off due to COVID-19.
However, I was also thankful to only work there for ten days. As I said, God provides. I had been applying to every office job that was still hiring on Indeed, and the day after I submitted an application to Market Contractors they called to ask me for an interview. This is where my community became essential.
I’ve only lived in Portland for a few months, and it’s been so hard to find or create a community of people I go to for support or just social interaction. But there is a group of ladies at the church I’ve been attending who welcomed me with open arms. I’ve been on Zoom chats with them, been invited to join a virtual baby shower and birthday celebration, and so on. When I learned about this interview, for a job that would fit my needs exactly, the first thing I did was message them and ask them to pray. And they did. They even prayed during my interview.
God listened, and he provided me with that job. Somehow, I come through this pandemic with a better job than I had before and amazing coworkers, and I know that I can only credit God for it. Beyond my friends from church, I’ve had others in my life reach out to offer support whether they knew I was struggling or not. This quarantine has been hard, emotionally, financially, and mentally, but it’s also shown me that I have people who love me and a God who loves me even more.