FAMILY FRIDAY | MY AWESOME OLIVE SHOOTS | CINDY WINTER-HARTLEY | JOB LOSS SURVIVING PART I | My husband lost his job three times in a row when the telecommunications market imploded. Within a span of 18 months, my husband looked for a job each time more desperate than the next. One of those times was with a broken leg! That season of uncertainty happened with such regularity our boys got worried every time they came home from school and saw us sitting on the porch. They knew something was up. “Are we going to be ok?” was my constant plea to my husband and to the Lord. Both assured me we would be fine, although only One probably knew that for sure and it wasn’t my husband! In an act of desperation, I began to journal and document my blessings. Nothing was off limits. Someone brought over cookies—write it down. A friend encouraged me—jot a note in my journal. An anonymous person paid our mortgage—no brainer, boom, in the journal. I even took pictures of the random encounters of God’s provision to remind myself we were not abandoned. Our sons recall that time in our lives as challenging and rich. For me as a mom, it felt like the ground was quaking beneath us. My face erupted with acne. There was no hiding the stress but we not only survived, we thrived as a family. I now have a scrapbook solely devoted to that season of life. One day, I will give it to one of my olive shoots as a remembrance of the Lord’s provision and tender care. I made physical notes of the blessings; our children did the same but etched them into their hearts. Questions – When you have faced job uncertainty, how did you handle the stress? Have you ever stopped to take a look at all you are given on a daily basis? How has that changed your attitude?
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:00:01 +0000