As I wrote this past Friday, on February 5, my wife will celebrate 25 years of employment at our local newspaper.
On February 6, that newspaper is laying her off. Permanently.
Yeah, it's kind of a kick in the teeth.
Nevertheless, we have placed our lives squarely in God's hands and refuse to worry about things. As so many have shared with us, there's never a door that closes without another one opening. Your good thoughts and kind prayers are most welcome as we contemplate which path to pursue out of this murky situation.
I will share one story with you to illustrate the hand of God at work. Last fall, in yet another cost-cutting move by her employer, my wife's health insurance rates went up so high she had to drop both myself and our daughter from her coverage in 2010. We complained bitterly. During the "Open Season Enrollment Period" at my work place, instead of the single coverage I had been carrying, I added family coverage just to keep my daughter covered, and as a side effect my wife was included in that coverage, as well. So now, when she would have shortly found herself without any medical insurance at all, she will still be covered. God knew this day would arrive, and now I feel remorse for being a whiner about it at the time.
The moral here is not just to hope for God's providence, but to *rely* upon it. And, like Paul, give thanks in ALL circumstances.
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PERKS OF BEING UNEMPLOYED
No more hassles about the length of your lunch break.
Casual Fridays have been replaced by Casual Every Days.
At least now it's just the teenager yelling about your work performance.
You are going to look *gorgeous* after sixteen hours of "beauty sleep" every day.
No more wondering about what the pets do all day while you're gone.
Two more weeks and you can add "proficient at video games" to your résumé.
You *never* miss the ice cream truck.
Finally outsmarted the government. They can't take 30% of your paycheck if you haven't got one.
[Chris White's Top Five on Work w/edits and additional material by Mark Raymond]
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WORD for YOUR WEEK: We're at dinner the other night and the appropriate use of napkins comes up which ultimately leads us to the word "uncouth," which my daughter was not familiar with. Its current popular usage means "lacking in polish or grace" but it began in Old English as cuth (long "u" sound), which meant "familiar, or known." Adding the modifier "un" to the front gave it the opposite meaning: unfamiliar, or unknown; strange. Both definitions work. An uncouth person is one who finds manners and poise unfamiliar, and is a stranger to social graces.
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1 comment:
Having now been in the "not-working-force" myself for a handful of years, you and Bonnie will CERTAINLY be in my prayers about this situation. It's AMAZING what doors can be opened by such an opportunity. Sometimes it can be a new job, or maybe it can be a "no job" answer. Let us see what The Good Lord has to say about this. It can be a difficult time at first, but it can be exciting and very rewarding as well... once the shell-shock wears off. I will be praying.
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