S417: Shift Happens Yet God's Still Faithful: Carol Gant Shares How God Provides Even When Systems Fail

When the government began cutting funding for programs dedicated to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, countless professionals found themselves suddenly displaced—including our guest, Carol Gant, a passionate advocate who has spent her career fighting on behalf of children and families from marginalized communities.

Carol lost her job in March due to these sweeping changes. But instead of collapsing under the weight of uncertainty, she has chosen a different path—radical trust.

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Carol opens up about:

• What it was like to lose her job because of decisions far beyond her control
• The emotional and spiritual toll of being out of work
• How she is navigating fear and identity in the waiting season
• Why she refuses to give up her calling or compromise her values
• The unexpected ways God has shown up as Provider—sometimes quietly, sometimes miraculously

This episode is a reminder that faith is not tested in the sunshine—it’s proven in the shadows. Carol’s testimony is honest yet hopeful, offering encouragement to anyone facing uncertainty, transition, or loss.

If you’re waiting on God… if you’re rebuilding after a setback… or if you simply need to hear a story of courage and unwavering faith—this conversation will lift you.

Tune in, be encouraged, and remember: when earthly doors close, heaven is still wide open.

CONNECT WITH US

And as always, Annie and I would love to hear from you. How are you managing your stress these days? How has government cuts and the government shutdown impacted you? How can we pray for you? Please email us at mazuri@mazuriministries.org, or share your story with us on IG @davenialeawrites, or on FB @annieraney

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🔗 Again, don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to keep the conversation going!

Today's episode songs are I Choose to Worship by Wes Morgan and Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. Please note these songs are for your listening enjoyment only and cannot be downloaded or shared.

Thanks for listening! From our hearts to yours!!

Transcript

Annie: Welcome to the Didn't Ask to Be a Hero podcast.

I'm your host, Annie Raney. In each episode, we will get an opportunity to see how ordinary women are now living amazing, abundant, and extraordinary lives with God's help.

May their stories serve to encourage and inspire you. Let's get started.

Hello, and welcome back to the Didn't Ask to Be a Hero podcast.

Today we are going to be talking with Carol, who recently experiencing something that unfortunately so many people around us are facing right now.

Losing her job due to government layoffs and cuts in grant funding. And it's a difficult season.

But what's powerful about her story, I think,

is how she's leaning into God's sustaining presence and holding onto faith even when the future feels uncertain. I don't know anybody out there feel like this. We here at the Didn't Ask to Be Here, a podcast believe that her journey will encourage anyone walking through loss,

transition,

or waiting on God. So welcome, Carol.

Carol: Thank you. Thank you.

Annie: Nice to have you with us.

I'm going to dive right in, Carol, because I'm so interested in your story.

Can you share a little bit about the work you were doing before the layoffs?

Carol: Okay. Yeah. So I was working for an education equity organization.

I had been working there since 2019.

It was a nonprofit organization.

I was the associate director of early childhood programs.

And I was doing work pretty much with or not only early childhood work. I was working with state departments of education across the nation and the US territories. And so all of a sudden,

on March 13, I received a call that all work ceases and you are out of a job as of today.

Annie: So, Carol, let me just interject here. So in the beginning of the year 2025, so we're in February, when did you first learn that there may be layoffs?

Carol: Well, we were nervous since the election,

Right. And so we were on pins and needles. You know, what's going to happen? And so we didn't know. And so it was really sudden. We, you know, we were bracing for it, but we did not know.

So.

Annie: And so did you, like, go into work one day and it was in your email that I worked from home.

Carol: I was 100% remote. And so all of a sudden I just got a call, you know, I've got some bad news.

Annie: Wow. And it was,

it wasn't like, okay, you have about a month to get your stuff together. No, it was. So I think a lot of listeners know someone. I know people personally also who,

you know, some of them had to were working in the office Physically. And they would go in, get an email, and they had to walk out, like, within another hour or so, gather their stuff.

So that's pretty scary. So what I want to ask you is,

how did losing your job impact you in.

Let's look at, like, three different levels, just briefly,

emotionally,

practically, I mean, because we all work because we gotta live, right, and pay the bills.

Emotionally, practically. And actually, let's go practically. How did it affect you?

And emotionally and spiritually,

I mean, I was fortunate.

Carol: It didn't affect me day to day, right away,

not long term. It will, because you have to now tap into other resources that you were planning for in case, and you pray that this never happens, and you don't have to tap into those resources.

And so you think about what about people that didn't have those resources, right? That didn't plan,

that were living from paycheck to paycheck. And I'm a single mother, right?

And I have a son that's in college.

Okay? Thank God he has a full ride,

you know,

and so that worked out in our favor. And so practically, you know, I think God knows, you know, and he aligns things practically. For me, I was going through a whole lot more in the background that people didn't know about.

My house had a second flood,

but worse this time. And so I was dealing with that. And then my dad passed away on February 6, and then on March 13,

I lost my job.

And then, you know, I'm dealing with that. But I look at God, because guess what? I moved back home because my insurance wouldn't cover housing for me the second time because it looks suspicious, you know, and so you talk about job moments.

And so I. But I looked at God and said, you know what? This is what you've designed for me. Because my dad lived in Ohio, and I got to be with him every.

Every single day for two months and got to be by his side for three days at his deathbed without leaving his side.

And guess what else I got to do? I got to say, daddy,

do you accept Christ as your Lord and savior before he died?

Do you ask God to forgive you for your sins?

Annie: Wow.

Carol: I got to be there and say, daddy, it's okay,

and watch him take his last breath. It's okay for you to go.

And so I believe God designed all of that. And so it's funny, people say, how are you getting through all of this? I said, God. And so I didn't have one breakdown.

You know, the old me,

I would have had a meltdown. And so God has grown me through all of this, and so I know he's got me. I've not had one nervous breakdown. The hardest part I had was losing my dad through all of this.

And, you know,

I, I finished my dissertation while I was off from work. I would have never been able to do that. I sat and. And so I know it's God. I don't know what he has for me.

Do I have a job yet,

But I know that he's going to fix that for me. So I hope that answers some of the questions.

Annie: No, it did. It did. But Carol, this. Okay, I really gotta ask this. Were there ever any moments where you really were fearful of, oh my, where's this gonna come from next?

Or,

or even upset or angry that all of this is happening at once to you?

Carol: Yeah, the other day. I mean, I have those days, you know, and I don't. I didn't wanna talk to anybody. I didn't wanna answer the phone. And I say to people, I don't feel like talking.

And then I get up the next day, you know, I, I had a moment with my doctor because I gained weight. And I'm saying, why am I gaining weight? I eat right?

And she said, you're stressed.

She said, carol, your cortisone level, cortisol levels are high.

And I said, but I'm eating, you know, I don't eat like crazy. And she said, but Carol, do you know what you're going through?

And she said, you're doing all the right things.

And she said, because I need you to sleep. Because I realized I wasn't sleeping. I'm staying up till 7 o' clock in the morning. I blamed it on my dissertation.

Oh, I'm just doing that because I was staying up all night to write. And she said, no, you're stressed. And so, yeah,

yeah, I do have those moments because I'm used to crying and having. Cause I've been through other things before, you know, divorce and things where I'm having a nervous breakdown and I was handling it differently.

And so, no,

I don't think I'm getting through it in a way that I'm not stressed, but I'm just doing it a different way.

Does that make sense?

Annie: Oh, I love that. But then that's why I wanted to dive in and say, okay, was it all roses? And I love that you said,

it's the listeners.

She struggled. She had dates.

Carol: It's not all roses. But I refuse to be defeated.

I refuse to have a nervous breakdown. I'm not saying that it's not affecting me. But guess what? Even now that I know, I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna allow this to.

So I took, you know, my Airbnb, I have this gym I took my butt over to. I said, let me get on this elliptical and let me walk around this property.

Let me increase this water intake.

Let me not, you know,

feel sad,

you know,

and then. But it's okay for a minute. And let me allow myself to be sad for a minute, too, you know, Let me allow myself to be. I think I posted something on it's okay to tell people I feel grumpy.

My son used to say that he feels grumpy inside. One day he told me, mommy,

you know what,

if you don't have my undershirt ironed? Because when it's cold in the morning, I would under iron his undershirt. If you don't have it ironed within 3.5 seconds of me getting out of the shower, I feel grumpy inside.

And so we started using that term, grumpy inside. And so I said, you know what? I feel grumpy inside today, and it's okay to feel grumpy inside. You know, and some days I do feel grumpy inside.

So I isolate myself. I don't answer the phone. You know, my stepmom called me. We're very, very close, and I. I don't feel like talking. I feel grumpy inside today.

And she said, it's okay, honey. I feel grumpy.

Annie: I love that.

Carol: You know, there's days I feel really sad, and I miss my dad a lot because I just want to talk to my dad because he always had a way of just making me laugh.

He would tell me in story,

and I really. I may cry right now, and I really need to talk to Daddy because he was really my rock, and I can't call my dad,

you know, and that's the hardest part, especially through something like this.

Annie: You know, there's a lot of our listeners who kind of reached out to us, and we know that have experienced loss of someone. I know.

Last year, as our listeners know, I lost my sister, who was. I have two sisters, and this one I talk to every day in Texas. Kind of like that relationship you said you have with your dad.

But,

you know, unfortunately in life we lose people.

And so then the question becomes,

who becomes your support system? Like you said, your dad. And you would just talk and he would give you that advice.

So are there people or communities who have encouraged or walked alongside you through all of this that you've been going through.

And who are they? Can you give them a shout out and tell us?

Carol: My stepmom has really been my raw through this.

Annie: Wait a minute. Stepmom.

Carol: My stepmother has been my raw. And she's been in my life since I was seven.

She reminds me. She'll say, you know, your dad, Remember the time. Or she'll tell me the same stories Daddy told me. And she'll say, you know, your dad and your dad told me this, and it'll be the same story daddy told me, or your dad said this, this time.

But she's just encouraging and loving and kind. And she's funny. She's very smart and articulate, but she's funny and real sometimes. And so she'll just make me laugh or. Or she's understanding, but she's real, too.

You know, she doesn't coddle me.

And so she,

you know, she'll tease me sometimes. Sometimes she's hard on me.

And so, yeah, it's my stepmom. And so we talk now.

Annie: I really.

I really love how,

you know, you have that relationship with your stepmom who's there for you,

and in an unexpected relationship, but a beautiful one. So think a lot of our listeners know someone who is. With all of these layups I need. And, you know, there are people, like you said, you're fortunate.

There are people who are living paycheck to paycheck.

Right.

So how do you think going through everything with the job, layoff, and then, you know, losing your dad and the house situation,

how do you think that may reshape the way you're thinking about your future and your calling?

Carol: Yeah,

I'm thinking about really grappling with the field that I'm in right now. And I'm older. I'm 56 years old.

And I think that has a lot to do with not being able to find a job, honestly. I'm a black woman. Right.

You have what, 350,000 black women since March 13 that are out of work?

I have what I think four girlfriends, including myself,

in my circle that are out of work since March 13th.

Annie: So, okay, if there are other women going through this, okay, similar to your situation,

or if people know someone like that, what words of encouragement would you give to someone who feels like, you know, they. Everything that they've built,

they're further in their careers, you know, more than 20 years in the field, and now it's all been stripped away. So what words of encouragement come?

Carol: I'm trying to figure that out myself.

I mean, it's mindset.

I don't know if it's vergen of encouragement for myself or is it changing the mindset of others.

We need other people to look at us differently, and so that's what we need to do, and we need other people to understand.

I feel like I grew up in a horse racing family,

and so I'm gonna use that analogy.

When a horse was done racing, you kind of put it out to pasture,

right?

And it was done,

you know, or we took it to the Amish country and they used it as a horse to pull cards for the Amish.

And I feel like that's how they're viewing us now.

But we have a lot to give and a lot to offer,

and I feel like we should be in a place to offer it to these younger people,

these younger generations. We should be passing the baton and training, but they don't want that knowledge from us. You know, there's so much technology, there's so much AI. There's so much.

And you know, I noticed that in the workforce before I left.

Honestly, I noticed it before I left. You don't want to take and listen from us.

And I want to, you know,

I just think there's a shift, a paradigm shift, a cultural shift.

I want it to absorb and learn and gather information.

When I was 30, 35,

I don't think I was a, you know, know it all. I knew some things, but I wanted to learn and gather information. And I still do. I don't think that this generation does.

Um, and it's not a criticism.

It's not just how it is. It's just how it is. You know, it's just different.

Annie: So are you actively searching for jobs in other areas outside of your norm?

Carol: Absolutely. And. And, you know, I.

I was an educator, but then I switched into this field, this nonprofit field. I switched into this field where I was working with organizations. And, you know, I took this interest and I'm.

I'm thinking about, you know, do I start my own consulting?

I'm thinking about what I want to do, but on the other hand, I'm also thinking about,

you know, I don't want. I'm not interested in taking over the world and somebody's.

I don't want. And I think people need to understand that too.

I don't want to come in and take your job.

I want to come in and make you.

If people were smart, they would say they would take my knowledge and all the years of experience and take it in like a Sponge and let me make you great.

And my personality is. I'm gonna sit in the background and make you great. And I want to work. Cause I need to work and do great things and build you up and mentor you.

I love to mentor young women and. But, you know, I still need to work.

I need health insurance, you know, and then I want to retire, you know, and so that was what I want to do in the ideal world.

I was in a remote situation. I'd love to be able to do that. And so we'll see what life brings.

Annie: I love that. Now, you've talked some throughout about how much,

you know, God has helped you navigate all these experiences. And a lot of them turn out to be blessings. Even if they seem like disasters. It turned out to be a blessing.

So I'd like to know what scripture or spiritual practice or something has been meaningful to you. Maybe it helped you through some tough, tough times. If you can narrow it down to a specific.

Carol: I just think what somebody said to me not long ago,

that was a moment for me.

I don't think there's this magical thing. Thing.

But God, just help me to walk in your anointing.

To. To walk in you. In your will and your perfect will and in your anointing.

Annie: You know, I love that.

Carol: To do it the best way I can.

Annie: I love that you say, I love, too. I think that means a lot to me and our listeners, that it's like,

although you sound amazing and everything, you don't have it all figured out.

Carol: I don't.

Annie: And that's okay.

Carol: Yeah.

Annie: And asking God for help to walk in.

Carol: Right.

Annie: No matter what. I love that.

Carol: I love one to say, I have it all figured out. I am not,

you know, the per. I will never try to be the perfect Christian.

I love the Lord and.

And I do the best I can with what I got.

You know,

I make mistakes and,

you know, I'm trying. I try my best every single day.

And I've really grown through all of this.

Annie: I. I love that outlook.

So I want to ask you. This is kind of a fun question,

but. Well, I think it's a fun question.

What song is it that either has,

you know, been there for you throughout this journey or really serves to inspire or encourage or uplift you?

Carol: You know, it's funny. I have this praise and worship playlist. One day I stopped and I said, whoa, because, you know, there's life and death in the tongue. And I'm listening to some of it, and I'm like, whoa, I can't I'm putting this stuff in my spirit, and some of it's like the rough side of the mountain,

and I'm like, whoa, I gotta stop putting this stuff in my spirit. You know what I mean? So I had to change my playlist around a little bit, listening, because that's the first thing I do in the morning,

put my praise and worship on. And so one of them, because I. When I looked at kind of some of the praise and worship, but one is one of my.

Go to. I love West Morgan. Love.

I love, you know,

like, casting crowns and, you know,

I love it. I still do,

but I love West Morgan.

And so Just Worship is one of my favorite. And so I love to go into worship. And West Morgan is one of my favorites. And so just worship when I really, you know, just getting.

Trying to get to God.

And so that's one of my favorites,

especially when I'm in that space where I really need God.

Just Worship is one of mine by Wes Morgan. One of my favorite.

Annie: Oh, that's awesome. Thank you so much. And you know what, Carol?

I want to thank you so much for sharing so openly with us today.

I think your story is a reminder that while jobs and funding may come and go,

God's faithfulness never fails. And if you're listening to this and you are in a season of uncertainty,

I want you to remember this Bible verse Isaiah 41:10. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I'm thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee.

Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

And you can see that with what Carol has gone through and is going through,

and it's the same God who is sustaining her that is able to sustain you.

So listeners, hold on to that hope, keep leaning on his promises, and trust that God is still writing your story.

And so, until next time, may you find strength and peace in God's presence, no matter what your journey is like. And so from our hearts to yours,

this song's for you.