How to be Poor

Dear reader, 

I must admit I’ve lost a LOT of money lately. 

By lost I must define the term correctly. 

Lost

denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered.

I don’t normally mind too much when I lose something. Life is full of mishaps and trials, and I anticipate losing things the farther into my story I go. I am quite a forgetful person as a whole, so I must assume that losing items will come more naturally to me than most. 

Even as I write this my wallet is hiding from me, it’s not where I last recall it being.

In the transition out of my previous employment at the factory there were a string of circumstances in which I lost a significant amount of money back to back. 

Some seemed to be divinely inspired events, others foolish choices that I have to live with either way. 

The first is the holiday season. As we neared Christmas the requirements to receive holiday pay is you must work the shift before and after the holiday to receive the bonus pay. 

The day before Christmas Eve I was working with no issues, then about 12:02PM I get hit with a wave of exhaustion, my head started pounding, my knees wanted to give out on me, and I was burning up. 

A fever hit me out of nowhere. 

My supervisor could tell I was miserable and said He would send me home as soon as he found a replacement. (If a supervisor SENT you home you wouldn’t get an infraction. But if you ask to get sent home yourself then you can get written up for it.) 

I didn’t hear back from my supervisor after that. We were on good terms and I knew that he wouldn’t write me up, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. Another few employees told me I was looking worse and worse as we got to 4:00PM.  

I worked 4 extra hours in misery, and I finally made the call. 

I let the other supervisor know that I was unsafe to be working, I couldn’t stand up straight for long and my head was too heavy to hold up. 

They sent a replacement to my portion on the line and I was sent to the office. 

“I’m not going to send you home. But you can go home and get written up for it.” 

The new supervisor appeared to have no remorse. 

Should I stay 3 more hours and potentially risk others health before the holidays,  or lose my 20 hours of holiday pay…?

I walked out with peace amidst the injustice, even though my anger would swell up as I returned to my house, I had to see that this was furthering my faith in a way I didn’t want. 

(When God strengthens our character it is supposed to hurt. Just like growing a muscle group, you must rip them apart for them to heal and receive the desired outcome)

The second story is a lot shorter, but it involves my last day being January 3rd 2024. 

I did not take in account the multiple days worth of PTO I received as soon as the new year hit, which turned into an extra couple hundred dollars that was taken out of my reach. 

God knows very well how much I fret about money. 

I wish I didn’t, and I desire for that fear to die, each day if he is willing to remove it from within me. I believe that will soon change. 

As I leave the comfort of consistent income I must rely on God’s provision for work that pays. I have one consistent client going into this videography business, and future projects down the road that will be profitable. But the bottom line of the amount of faith that is required for me to stand in the coming weeks is tremendous. 

I enjoy that at times, but I must admit I am not the most calm person on the planet. I can fake many emotions, but I want to be as authentic as possible. 

So with that I lay down my pride and invite you along with me. These letters seems to flow quite easier now then they ever have, and I attribute that to having the deep desire to document and share the constant development of my inward being and what I see God doing around me. 

I know we are strengthened by the word of each other’s testimony’s, so I don’t see a good reason to stop, hopefully I can be more consistent in the days to come. 

Sincerely, 

Your Poor Yet Rich Businessman 

-Mitchell