After receiving an invitation from a missionary friend of ours to join his tour group in Israel, I went on the hunt for a baby-sitter. That wasn’t an easy task. We were stationed in Greece and lived on the economy, so of the few people I knew, there weren’t many who could watch the kids. Then one day, Major Bailey’s wife, Raynel, called me about a lady interested in the job, so they stopped by the house after lunch.
Our son was at school, but the girls were home with me. I talked to Raynel and the other lady, gave them a tour of the house, explained what I required, and asked if she would like the job. (I trusted Raynel’s recommendation.)
While they were there, Raynel talked to Jamie; she picked up Michelle. But the other lady ignored the girls. I offered her $160 for the time she’d have the children. I thought it was a fair offer (remember, this was 1986) because they would be living in our house, eating our food, and utilizing our utilities (which were quite expensive in Greece). So they wouldn’t have any expenses. She agreed and they left.
A short while later, she called me on the phone and demanded more money. Had she said, “You know, I’ve been thinking, $160 is a little low for all I’ll be doing. Would you reconsider and give me $200?” I would have had no problem with that. I was a stay-at-home mom. I’d never had to hire a baby-sitter. I didn’t know the going child care rate. But she called me up and said, “I want $200.”
Because of her brisk and presumptuous attitude, I replied, “But you agreed to $160.”
“It makes no difference. If you want me to take care of the children so you can go to Israel, you’ll give me $200.”
This lady was applying for a baby-sitting job and it bothered me that she had totally ignored the little girls that she was asking to watch. I only hired her on Raynel’s recommendation, but I didn’t really have peace about it. She obviously didn’t really love children. This was a job to her; nothing more. All she cared about was the money. And God knew that. So when she called demanding more money, I simply told her no.
That shocked her. I’m sure she thought that she had me over a barrel, but I didn’t want to go to Israel so badly that I would leave my children with just anyone. Now she did some back-pedaling, trying to convince me to hire her at an additional $40. When I declined, she said, “Well, I’m coming over and we’ll talk about it.” So she and her husband came – right in the middle of dinner.
Then Floyd saw what I’d been talking about. Neither she nor her husband showed the slightest interest in the children. They were there for one reason – to transact a business agreement. The more I saw of them, the more convinced I was that these were not the people I wanted to stay with my children. Isn’t God good? We finally had to ask them to leave, because they were determined to land this contract with the price they demanded. We, on the other hand, weren’t so set on this trip that we were willing to sacrifice our precious children for it. So we simply said, “No,” and ate dinner.
No one I knew wanted to see me miss this opportunity, so several people came to me afterward and offered to pay the $40 difference so I could go. I thought that was so sweet, but I wasn’t staying home for lack of $40. I simply didn’t have peace in my heart about leaving the kids with this couple.
At this point, I still believed that God would provide someone to watch the children so I could go. I believed that until the day before Floyd was going to leave without me. With a sigh, I thought, Well, I guess I’m not going.
One thing about God: He honors faith, and He’s never late. Never!
A short while later, Jeannie called. She said, “Marjie, are you excited about going to Israel tomorrow?” I said, “No, Jeannie. I can’t go. We couldn’t find a baby-sitter.” She said, “Well, you know, I might do it as a job? I want to go on the trip that the rec center is putting together to visit the seven churches of Asia Minor. And Bob said that I can go if I can raise the money myself.”
I had a lot to do in one day to get ready to go to Israel, including getting a power of attorney for Bob and Jeannie in case one of the kids got sick or hurt and they needed medical care. Jeannie came over and helped me, and we got it together in one day.
Floyd and I didn’t feel that the extra $40 that couple had asked for was unreasonable. It was how they did it that bothered us. So we gladly paid Jeannie $200 to keep the kids for us. And we knew that while we were away, our children were well loved, well cared for, and taken to church. It pays to trust God.