Laid Off

Two days before Thanksgiving my hubby lost his job. I didn't want to write about it here until we'd told all the relatives ourselves. The company my hubby worked for needed to cut costs and he was one of the ones let go. So....we are back in the ranks of the unemployed and my hubby is once again job searching. For any readers who don't know us personally (or don't remember) we have been through this many times before. There have been specifics that have varied with each layoff, but through all the periods of unemployment we have learned over and over how faithful God is to provide for His children. By God's grace I am truly not worried at this point about how we are going to pay our bills (I'm sure those days will come!). I am more concerned about learning the lesson God wants to teach us through THIS lay off. I think (I hope) I've learned the lesson about God providing for us financially from some of our previous layoffs, and I sense there may be a different lesson this time. I don't want to miss it. My hubby doesn't want to miss it. Please pray with us that we will keep our eyes on Jesus and clearly see the direction He provides and the lesson He desires to teach us.

My husband seemed a little lost for the first few days. He had to turn in his work laptop, which meant that our whole family was sharing our one desktop computer that we own. When you spend all your working hours on a computer, it is strange to not have one in front of you! He has since negotiated with his employer to purchase his laptop from them for $500. It was a much better deal than a comparable computer brand new, and since it's two years old they didn't really want to keep it sitting around their office. So it was a win-win situation. They will take the $500 out of his one month severance check, so next month could be even tighter than usual unless my hubby finds another job by then.

Before his layoff, we had explored the possibility of him working an early morning shift at UPS or FedEx loading trucks, allowing him the whole day for his regular job. These companies always hire extra workers during their busy Christmas season, and we felt a little extra income right now would be so helpful. But we didn't act on it right away. Immediately after his layoff he went to apply there and apparently one week makes a big difference because neither of them are hiring more holiday workers right now. :-(

We are finding our "unemployment routine", which is so necessary. Even though it's temporary, it has been important for my hubby and I to communicate clearly what our expectations are of each other during the period of time that he is home more. And he needs to continue to structure his day so that he can be productive in his job search and also do things at home that always get pushed to the back burner when he's busy working. Please pray with us that we can maintain a good routine and communicate often and well. Unemployment can be so stressful on a marriage. We recognize that, and we long to instead redeem this time and use it to make our marriage even stronger.

This past Monday was date night. We figured it may be our last "real" date in a while, so we went out to a medium nice restaurant (nicer than Denny's!) and had a good talk about everything. We both expressed willingness to lay everything on the table in our prayers, and to try and think outside the box. I guess to be willing to accept it if the Lord leads us outside the box. Does that make sense? Whether it means moving out of the area, or moving to a different career, or going back to school to pursue a dream. Whatever it is, we agreed to be open to it. We affirmed that money (or lack thereof) does not have to prevent us from finding a way to pursue something different if that his how the Lord leads us. We can be creative. We can find a way. We live in a very high cost of living area, so some avenues seem impossible to pursue here. In other places, however, money would be less of an issue. At this point we both still desire to stay here, but we are willing to move and seeking to hear God's still small voice.

If the Lord brings us to mind, please pray for us during this time. Pray that we keep our eyes on Jesus and that we don't get in the way of Him bringing glory to Himself! Truly, He is SO faithful and so loving and good. Everything He does or allows is for our good. I know this in my head and I believe it in my heart. How thankful I am to belong to Him!

"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." ~ Psalm 100:5