A Call from God?

[DvineMerCnmysol]

My life has been pretty crazy lately. My husband was recently caught in a 4 year long addiction to oxycontin and cocaine. He left for rehab, came home, and 4 months later relapsed. I took our children and moved in with my parents while he works on his recovery. I have no intention of divorcing him; however, I feel that the environment isn’t conducive to raising children, as he is behind on all bills. That said, I work full-time and take care of my children, while supporting my husband in his quest for long term sobriety. I love him dearly and I know that he will get better. My parents; however, are not so certain. They want me to divorce him. They raised me to be a good Catholic, which is what I am trying to be in this difficult time, but they tend to stretch things in their advice to me on this by saying that the Church does not want me to be married to a drug addict. None of this has anything to do with my question though…my question is how to discern if God is calling me to quit my job, despite the unbelievable challenges that I am facing right now, to open a Catholic book store. Or, perhaps, develop a Catholic Recovery Program. I am not an addict, but I am a codependent. I suffer from codependency just like my husband suffers from substance abuse. He is not Catholic, but he has a very strong respect for the Church. Since this has happened, I have felt an intense draw to the development of a Catholic Recovery Program, but lately, I have also wanted to open a Catholic bookstore. My question is whether or not anyone has any suggestions on how I should go about identifying whether or not this is a Call from God. I emailed my Pastor about starting something in my church, but have not heard back from him. I have read St. Faustina’s Diary and I know from her writings that patience is the key, and that God will make action in His time, but I am not always certain if I should be more proactive about it. Just like with my husband’s addiction, I struggle with trying to control some situations. I do not want to do that here. I feel peaceful excitement about the projects; however, I do not have a spiritual adviser and, while I do not see dollar signs in these endeavors, sometimes when I think too much into it, I see recognition. I know that this is pride and I wonder if, perhaps, that is why God hasn’t given me the graces to take it any further. Does anyone have any advice, suggestions, or general discussions for me on this? Thank you in advance!

 

[wadramli]

Hi .

I can’t tell you if this a calling for you but what I can do is discuss the bookstore you want to start . in order to do that I want some info from you starting with the rent , utilities average per month , how many day of the month you will open. How many hours . stuff like that . then we figure the cost per day and we check given your margin of profit how much should your take be per day to break even . for example if your cost is a hundred dollars a day and your profit margin is 30 % then you need a take of 333 dollars per day to break even . which means 37 dollars an hour if you open 9 hours a day . you have to make 37 dollars every hour you are open to break even. Then you want to figure how much take you need to pay yourself every day . if its another hundred then you need ot make anther 37 . total you need ot make is 74 dollars every hour . if the books you’re selling averge ten bucks in price then you need to sell 7 book every hour and one book in addition every 2 ½ hour . this means a customer must walk into your store every minute and buy a ten dollar book . that done go out and start counting the number of people who walk by . and the numbers of car that pull over in front of your store . then go research what is the statistics say about the percentage that would actually stop and buy given a number of passers buy.
You need to calculate the cost of set up . and you also need to budget for advertising . look for circulars that go to people what is the cost of the ads . check price break point if you buy bulk .do you have an edge ?
Are you going to need labor ?

I ran my own business a long time ago. I had dozen of employees . they were all recovering addicts . Long hours . but a lot of fun .

You are a good wife .

 

[OurLadysServant]

Do not make this decision quicKly. Take as many months or years as you need

Your first calling is to your children, who you must have money to provide for. Until they are independent.

Get a holy spiritual director priest to meet with monthly to help talk about discernment

It could be from God, yourself, or satan.
So discern slowly.

Satan’s plan with holy people isnt to tempt them to sin sometimes, but to offer them something “holy” and “good” that would take them away from their main earthly mission

My life has been pretty crazy lately. My husband was recently caught in a 4 year long addiction to oxycontin and cocaine. He left for rehab, came home, and 4 months later relapsed. I took our children and moved in with my parents while he works on his recovery. I have no intention of divorcing him; however, I feel that the environment isn’t conducive to raising children, as he is behind on all bills. That said, I work full-time and take care of my children, while supporting my husband in his quest for long term sobriety. I love him dearly and I know that he will get better. My parents; however, are not so certain. They want me to divorce him. They raised me to be a good Catholic, which is what I am trying to be in this difficult time, but they tend to stretch things in their advice to me on this by saying that the Church does not want me to be married to a drug addict. None of this has anything to do with my question though…my question is how to discern if God is calling me to quit my job, despite the unbelievable challenges that I am facing right now, to open a Catholic book store. Or, perhaps, develop a Catholic Recovery Program. I am not an addict, but I am a codependent. I suffer from codependency just like my husband suffers from substance abuse. He is not Catholic, but he has a very strong respect for the Church. Since this has happened, I have felt an intense draw to the development of a Catholic Recovery Program, but lately, I have also wanted to open a Catholic bookstore. My question is whether or not anyone has any suggestions on how I should go about identifying whether or not this is a Call from God. I emailed my Pastor about starting something in my church, but have not heard back from him. I have read St. Faustina’s Diary and I know from her writings that patience is the key, and that God will make action in His time, but I am not always certain if I should be more proactive about it. Just like with my husband’s addiction, I struggle with trying to control some situations. I do not want to do that here. I feel peaceful excitement about the projects; however, I do not have a spiritual adviser and, while I do not see dollar signs in these endeavors, sometimes when I think too much into it, I see recognition. I know that this is pride and I wonder if, perhaps, that is why God hasn’t given me the graces to take it any further. Does anyone have any advice, suggestions, or general discussions for me on this? Thank you in advance!

 

[pianistclare]

If you are the only one working, you cannot quit. Period.
There’s time to pursue your desire to open a Catholic bookstore. Later.
Now does not seem like the right time. If you think your parents are interfering now, wait until you are totally dependent on them to meet your bills and needs.
then they will feel more justified in telling you what to do.
I’d wait if I were you.
Focus. the children and your husband need you without the stress of a new venture.

 

[wadramli]

the idea is great . but first we show that the store is not a viable option. it’s not a good way to go . two she can do both . keep her full time job and the book as a hobby .then we see if the hobby can be turned into a viable business . next thing we do is the option of the church . can it be done through the church . she has already suggested that alternative but her e mail was not answered .

 

[DvineMerCnmysol]

Bumping for more advice on this…My husband still has his job. It pays pretty well. We would need to get our financial house in order first, of course, but I still feel this pull.

Now, it is more about the bookstore, than the recovery side of things. This bookstore has not left me. Does anyone have any advice on how best to discern callings like this? I am going to try to find a spiritual director. My pastor is very busy, but I will persist in asking his help; however, his business might be a sign that I need someone else to direct me, maybe?