Ministry

I have to laugh a little about the title I chose because of something that happened today. I'm going to give a little back story first though. About a month shy of a year ago, I applied for a job at a daycare that was also in Clinton. At the time I was struggling with Starbucks and the inconsistency of it all, really late/early hours, and constantly feeling I was unable to spend time with family or friends. So I put in my application and the next day my two weeks notice. I wasn't expecting a call or a job offer, but I couldn't wait for either I was miserable and it wasn't helping our marriage. November 1st was my last day at Starbucks, and shortly after was the last day I had insurance. So I applied for other jobs, but with the holiday season at hand we kind of took a break and spent time with my family. It was after new year's day that I heard anything from other employers. I was under qualified for some I understood, but it was fine. I finally had an offer of a job, believe it or not one that I had partially turned down. It seems though that they had another opening and believed I would fit it better than I would have fit the last. At this time it was the beginning of February, and after praying about it I accepted the job. While it didn't have benefits, I had believed those would be easy enough to obtain at least the health insurance part. While I usually love the kids, some harder to love than others, the job has seemed to wear on me a bit. Recently it has taken getting back into classes to encourage me to continue what has felt like a fight, I have to not only survive but thrive in the setting. I had applied for a teacher's assistant position mainly for experience in the classroom, but an added bonus would be the benefits. Sadly this year has had the most applications for that position the school district has seen in quite some time. All this to say where I have been since the application of the first mentioned daycare was placed. Last week I received a voice mail on my phone from the first day care, and ignored it, a little curious but not worth calling about since I had been at the day care I am at now for over six months. I had missed calls ever couple of days but usually I didn't have the chance to call back. Today I saw a had a missed call and didn't realize who it was so I called back. After a second or two I was directed to the person who called me and it had been someone on behalf of the daycare. They had called to see if I was still interested in the job I had applied for. I pointed out to them it had almost been a year ago a little later, but being curious I asked about the position. It was in their toddler class, seven children, they guaranteed that no more than seven would be in the class. They has said I came highly recommended by my previous employer, and they wanted a creative individual willing to deal with diapers and all that entails. So at this point I informed her I already had a job at another preschool in the area, but there is no good way to bring up what I had to next. I asked about the dreaded word in all of childcare... benefits. The phrase I received back is what shocked me the most, even more that calling me back almost a year since I put in my application. "This is strictly a ministry position." As she went on I gathered her meaning behind "ministry position." She had said it would be full time, but only minimum wage (less than what I am making now), and no benefits except after a year's time you would be able to receive some sick leave. I could have understood very easily that it was not possible to provide benefits, but the way she worded it disgusted me. Needless to say without the benefit of having benefits I most definitely turned her down. I am thankful I am at a place where for the most part I can say I enjoy where I work at the moment, knowing that it is not permanent. I would like to say though that hopefully even in ministry positions people would want to take care of their ministers and not just use it as a way to justify not paying more or giving benefits. I could rant on and on about this phrase, but I feel I have said my piece. Seeing that I do have to get up early in the morning for work, I will say goodnight.