As it is in Heaven

It’s the longest day of the year and Marlo is over it. Hot and overwhelmed, Marlo leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her head. As she closes her eyes, she slowly drifts away from all of life’s problems that were waiting for her at the local library. Her past due medical bills and rent, her struggle in finding a job and her student loan debt all went away temporarily as she placed herself in a mental oasis. Just when Marlo was about to crawl into her hammock on the beach, she was brought back to reality by a tug on her shirt. “Sorry to bother you, but are you done with the computer? I want to play a game” said the young child, who couldn’t have been no older than ten. “No, I’m not, sorry” Marlo responded groggily. Reluctantly, Marlo returned to her work. Marlo has been at the library most of the day looking for resources to help her out financially. As she searched, she wrote down every resource that she was eligible for in her favorite black, leatherback journal. Her grandmother bought it for her as a souvenir when she visited Spain last year. Marlo uses this black book to write down almost everything from budgeting to her dreams and aspirations.

After about thirty minutes of searching, Marlo was frustrated. Marlo turned to the worn-out page in her notebook where she kept all her current debt and a list of things she wants once she is debt free. This page consists of a mantra she would repeat to herself whenever she felt overwhelmed with her current situation. “I am a lender, not a borrower. I will be financially free” she whispered repeatedly to herself. With tears rolling down her face, she laid her head on top of her journal and began to pray. “Lord, I’m coming to you as humble as I know how. These bills are piling up and my finances are scarce. I could lose everything soon. Lord, I just ask that you bless me with a miracle. Make a way for me to become financially stable now and for the years to come. Bless me to be debt free and for my peace of mind to still be intact once you do. Make it so on Earth as it is in Heaven, Amen”. Marlo continued to lay her head down as she drifted off to sleep.

“Miss Valentine, your banking and savings accounts are all set. Would you like a receipt for today’s deposit”? “No thank you, have a great day” Marlo replied as she walked away with a confidence as loud as the clacking of her new Louboutin heels. As Marlo climbed into her now paid in full 2016 Dodge Charger, she thought about the events that brought her here. It was Friday afternoon at her previous job, Kinkos. Marlo was replacing ink cartridges when the boss came out of his office and told everyone some devastating news. “I’m so sorry team, but the owners have sold this building to Bond & Cross Enterprises. They understand that this purchase will greatly inconvenience a lot of employees, so they are willing to pay everyone here a hefty severance fee of $20,000. We have to pack our belongings and be out of the building by 5p.m. today”.

And well, the rest is history, and she is $20,000 richer.

So far within the first 5 days, Marlo has caught up on all her rent and was able to reach a settlement with Sallie Mae, her student loan company, and the collection companies for medical to only pay 5% of her remaining balance and be forgiven for the rest! That left her with a little over $14,000 to spare. Marlo was beyond grateful. For the first time in her life, she could finally breathe without the heaviness of her financial woes. Since then, Marlo has put a large amount of her severance pay into her savings, has invested in several stocks and bonds and was able to splurge on herself at several high-end stores. But most importantly, Marlo was able to invest in a project she started a long time ago but put to the side when she could not fund it properly. Marlo is now able to bring her fashion line into fruition. As Marlo sat in her car checking off her to do list in her favorite black notebook, a random lady came and knocked on her car window. “Ma’am, you need to wake up”. “What”? Marlo said confusingly as she tucked her freshly pressed hair behind her ear.

“Ma’am you need to wake up. We are about to close here soon” the gentle librarian said. “Oh, my apologies. Let me get out of your way” Marlo mumbled as she hurriedly gathered her belongings. As she is about to leave out the door, the librarian called out to her, “Ma’am don’t forget your purse”! Marlo looked over at the area she was sitting in and noticed a small, black handbag sitting on the floor. “I don’t remember bringing a purse, but maybe I did. This one does look like one of the purses I own” Marlo thought to herself as she approached her chair. She propped the bag on the table and opened it. In it she saw a note and two stacks of money, $10,000 in each. “Sometimes, the seeds you sow in life yield great returns. Enjoy your blessings” the note read. Marlo, in shock, let out a small scream. “Are you ok hun”? asked the concerned librarian. “Yes, I’m fine. I just thought I saw a big spider crawl past my bag. It was just a piece of lint”. Marlo quickly grabbed the bag and headed out the door. Marlo could not believe her current fate. She could not do anything but sit in her car and cry tears of joy. Did she really manifest her dreams and bring them to life? Were her prayers really answered in a matter of hours? She woke up this morning with just a dollar and a dream and she is now ending her day with $20,000 dollars and a dream bursting through the seams into her reality.