Part Seven: Lazarus

Alex and I continued fasting for an entire year. I fasted from deserts and Alex fasted from lunches. After that year, the position at Owens was still not filled. They could not find anyone with a four year degree qualified to teach welding. This did not come as a huge surprise to anyone in the welding program, as anyone with a 4 year degree would not have been a welder as their primary vocation, since there is no 4 year degree in welding.

Since they hadn't been able to fill the position, we still had a faint glimmer of hope. Around this time, our friend Sammy preached a sermon at our church about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead 3 days late. His sermon was about God raising our dead hopes and bringing our faith back to life. Needless to say, it hit home hard.

In the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, when Jesus arrives 3 days late, Lazarus' sister Mary meets Jesus on the road and throws herself at his feet, crying "If only you had been here!" That had been me for the last few months. Every day, I was falling at God's feet crying, "Where were you?! We did everything you said, we followed you, and at the last minute, you didn't show!"

So, that fall they opened the job again, dropping the degree requirement to an Associates. Alex had not completed his Associates yet but he was close. So he went in and met with an advisor to see if there was any way to get that degree. Well after trying several options, they were able to create a degree that was divided between welding and photography, and he had exactly the right number of credits... down to a one credit hour Tai Chi class that filled his last elective. It was miraculous. Alex was now qualified again!

At this point, Alex had everyone he knew praying for him, even people who don't pray. He had a conversation with a friend at work that went like this:

Alex: Dude, you gotta pray for me!

Friend: I don't pray.

Alex: Well you gotta pray for me!

He had that conversation every day, until the friend started praying. Alex told his story to everyone he came in contact with, asking them to pray. It was a very exciting time.