I was sitting around with a couple of friends today talking about where we each bank. Not even sure how it came up but it was an amazing reminder of how far I have come. I think it helps to remember how far down I had to dig before I was able to start digging out. It makes me more grateful.
My friends each said what bank they banked at and one of them had a story about why she banked where she did. It reminded me of when I first moved to Lawrence. I bank where I do because we have a little bit of history. I had banked with them in Manhattan when I lived there. When I got to Lawrence, I didn't have a car. I didn't have a bank. I didn't have any money or a job. My grandmother had sent me a $20 check for my birthday. I didn't know anywhere that would cash a personal check. I called a few banks and they all required $50 to start a checking account. I sat there starting at this check and called the bank that I had banked with in Manhattan. I told them that I had banked there before and all the money I had in the world was in this $20 check from my grandma. They looked me up in the system and amazingly enough, I didn't owe them any money and had left on good terms. Whaaaaaat?! So they sent me to the local branch to open a bank account with $20 dollars.
Here is the amazing part of the story. When I made that call I was sitting in the grass on KU's campus taking a break from riding my bike from point A to point B. I was probably out job hunting. I was still in housed outpatient rehab. I distinctly remember telling myself, I am going to go to college here one of these days. I start in the fall.
I am so grateful I took the time to stop and think about where I was at that moment with that $20 check in my hand and where I wanted to see myself in the future. I can look back and see that even though there isn't much more in that bank these days, I have a job, I have transportation, and I will be a Jayhawk next fall. And when I am, I pray that I stop and take some time...
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