Work at Home Mom

     When our children were small Jerry and I both agreed I should be a stay at home mom. With five children I had plenty of work to do right at home! As the children began to grow up I began to need more money just to keep up with school supplies and extra things teenagers wanted and sometimes needed. It just seemed there wasn't quite enough money to go around. 
     I began to pray about this. "Lord, You know I need more money. It's too hard with our children to say no to extras. I can't go out and get a job, that would be against what Jerry and I had decided on years ago. Isn't there some kind of a job I could do at home to make some extra money? I know that all things are possible with You."
     A couple of days after praying this prayer one of my neighbors called on the phone. She explained to me that since her youngest child was now in school all day she was going to go back to work in an office. Then she said, "I have to quit my home job...my boss asked me to recommend someone for it. I immediately thought of you!" 
     What was her home job? She called the substitute teachers for the secondary schools in our city and she did it from her kitchen!
     When Jerry came home I told him about it and he thought it sounded interesting. It would mean getting up early every morning. The time for teacher's to call was 6:00 to 6:30 AM and 3:00 to 4:00 PM. I was not a morning person! With determination I could do it!
     With the Lord's help I did do it. I was the substitute caller for about 13 years! What a wonderful and direct answer to my prayer! I was home every day so my children didn't come home to an empty house and we had that little bit of extra money needed for extras! 
     Sometimes when a teacher called me I would be a listener to a problem and I had the opportunity to say, "I'll be praying for you." I always received a surprised, "Thank you!" 
     Does God care about our small problems? Does He answer prayer? There is no doubt in my mind: Yes, God cares and God answers prayer.