Okay the title is a little weird, but it’s one I feel I can relate to. Now, I don’t mean a modern-day job, where you go to work everyday, but a modern-day Job, as in the bible.
If you know the bible story, then you know that Job lost everything while still holding on to his faith in God. God rewarded Job in the end for his faithfulness. Now I’m sure for Job, this wasn’t easy. He saw all his wealth and family disappear. Most people who lost all that would probably curl up into a ball and die. How he stayed positive, is well truthfully, beyond me.
I am no different from many people. When things don’t go my way, I get angry and mad at the world. I might even take it out on my family and friends. After all in my little bubble the world revolves around me and nothing should even go wrong. Ha ha, back to reality.
When Doug made the decision to enter seminary, it completely changed our whole families lives. I felt much like Job. I was going to lose a home I really loved, a job that I enjoyed and friends I loved to hang with. Family too. In fact, I was going to move away from family for the first time ever. So in my mind, I was about to lose everything.
Doug and the kids made the move to Seminary in December. I decided it was better to keep my job in Illinois and not move until I found one in Dubuque. Well that time came about two months later. But wouldn’t you know it, three weeks after I started, I got laid off. I was lucky enough to be hired back a week and half later for another position.
Now during this move, I also was very sick. I finally decided to go to a clinic in town, only to have them send me on my way with nothing more than cough syrup. When I got out to my car I found my car had been hit by someone else, causing damage to my driver’s side door. When the cough medicine didn’t work, I went to see another Dr. who then put me on antibiotics, steroids and an inhaler. So much for cough medicine. Do you see where all this is going.
My faith has been tested once again, when we hosted a recent gathering at our house on a Friday evening. This gathering happens at someone’s home every Friday night and Doug and I decided to host one. While people were arriving and having great conversations, I started to feel down. I missed my close friends and the parties we would have. So although everyone was truly wonderful, and I enjoyed the visits it was difficult.
I have learned since arriving here, that everyone has a story of how they got here and what they left behind. It’s not just me and my self-pity party of one. But maybe you can understand my connection to Job. God never promised things would be easy, but that we need to remain faithful.
So being faithful, I have also found the good side to what’s been happening, and my “rewards” so to speak for being faithful. My new job is located in an office space painted orange, my favorite color. I was recently moved from the training row to a “window” seat, which gives me some place to look. As well as the sunshine on the sunny days. My days off have been changed to three days in a row instead of every other day as it was previously. The home office of the company I work for is located in Tempe AZ, a place I hope to one day transfer to. I attend Church in Galena, one of my favorite places to be. I’ve been able to see movies with my family, which we haven’t done in a while. So there is more family time. My health is getting better and I should have insurance again sometime around July 1rst. (Never thought I would be happy about that one!)
The last thing I want to add to all this, is my niece. Actually she is my niece in-law, but to me family is family. Anyway, she started blogging and has written some very thought provoking things for me. It’s really because of her I started looking at the blessings in my life, rather than what I feel is lacking. It’s also very strange that when I’m at my lowest point, something will awaken my faith again. It comes in the way of a written sign, or a message. It may even come from a commercial or book I’m reading. But there is always something there reminding me that GOD is always present, even when GOD feels farthest away.
“Remember, the teacher is always silent during the test.” (author unknown to me)
Thank you so much for this encouraging article. I chuckled that you had to explain the “Modern Day Job” in the beginning. I am also a modern day Job. I just hit 30 years old not too long ago and at this point I have experienced a quarter life crisis of tremendous loss in my life, and although I praise God for my loss was not in death, I was layed off several years ago and have not picked up a permanent job since, I have lost close friends that used to mean so much to me, I compromised my renewed chasity with someone who constantly did things that disrespected me and the relationship along with other complications that forced me to break up with him, my unemployment checks were cut off, then renewed again and severely reduced, now it’s cutoff again; I have to rely on my mom and little sis for financial support because all of my savings are depleted, not to mention that I’m embarrassed to say that I’m still living with my parents, I chose a field that I was good at, but didn’t have a passion in now I’m struggling to find work in that field and even when I look outside of the field, I’m overqualified and underqualified…I’m now back in school and chose a different career path which opened me up to a new job opportunity that has so much promise of blessings, but the job is constantly being delayed, but I know that delay does not mean deny, so I still have hope that this job and the blessings that it promises will finally pull through completely…I watch friends and acquaintances be blessed with new jobs, incredible equally yoked relationships resulting in: engagements, marriage, kids; blessed with homes as a result of the housing market with tax benefits, supplemental income and other large financial blessings, and although I am truly happy for them, it makes me wonder if God forgot about me. I can’t adequately express how I’ve dealt with these issues except that God has kept me. It’s deeply painful to deal with multiple disappointments and heartaches of life at once. I weep profusely at times, sometimes I stress, sometimes I’m depressed, but I also pray and I thank God that I still have more joy than I do bad days. I feel that I have a modern day Job experience in my life. I wonder how I could be strong and consistently faithful like Job seemed to be. I have so much to give God thanks for such as my family being there for me, the support of a couple close friends who encourage me, my health, a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes on my back, and in my right mind. But I can’t help but wonder when it will be my turn to experience the abundance of life again. I am so glad that God led me to this article. I believe that God is going to restore me. I believe that God knows that I’m suffering and cares about my life and I know that my failures, loss, and disappointments will not matter because God is going to turn it around. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I’m still holding on to God’s promise. If I give up my faith in God, I no longer have hope. So I claim in Jesus name, restoration in 2014. Never give up, put your trust in God, no matter what you’re going through. For without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Thank you again for this message. AMEN.
Wow, this was written so long ago, thank for reading. Thank you for sharing your story. God bless you.