In May 2001 I was laid off from a very large company with 4 weeks of severance pay. The high paying job I had lined up fell through. I applied for unemployment compensation. After 30+ years of uninterrupted employment I found myself on the outside looking in.
At first I occupied myself with all sorts of chores and activities around the house. Each day I spent time looking for work.. that was now my job.. to look for work. The Tech Bubble had burst and there were more folks like me looking for work than there were jobs.. it was very hard on my ego. As time went on I interviewed at several companies and was rejected.. my confidence was shaken to the core.
In November I doubled over with pain and, after three visits to the Emergency Room, I was told that I needed to have my Gall Bladder removed.. that happened the day before Thanksgiving.. I spent the holiday in my hospital room and the next month recovering from surgery.
In January 2002 my dad passed away and I traveled to Mississippi to deliver the eulogy and be with my family. It was a low time.. I was drifting and looking for purpose.. it is hard to be unemployed.
On April 8 my wife Ann had major surgery.. she did great and I came to bring her home on Thursday April 11. I was shocked and traumatized when I walked into her room as she was experiencing her first attack of Devic's Disease. Her speech was slurred and her right side was paralyzed. The following months were spent watching Ann recover with the help of all sorts of doctors and therapists.
During this time I began to see the a bigger picture - this time of unemployment was a retreat of sorts that allow me to decompress, reflect and refresh. It was a difficult time for many reasons but, in hindsight, I was glad that I did not have a high stress job thrown into the mix.
In August 2002.. 15 months after I lost my job.. I got a phone call from a friend and within a week I was back to work. Unemployment is a very difficult experience.. I do not wish it on anyone.. but.. if you find yourself unemployed there may be a reason for it.. there may not be one.. but being unemployed sure gets your attention and forces you to deal with many issues in your life.
If you are unemployed today.. I hope it is a short time and you find a great new job soon. I pray regularly for unemployed folks on my prayer blog.. please stop by and leave me a note about your job situation.. or pray for those in need of work.
Sounds a bit like what we went through in 1990. After 29 years in management Hubby was down-sized out of his job. I was a stay at home Mom. He was a workaholic and I was so concerned as he hit the wall after working so hard. Jobs were not forth coming. Hubby was too experienced, made too much pay, too old yada yada yada.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at the next 2 years was actually the beginning of the best years of our lives.
We developed some hobbies we did together, traveled some, which we couldn't really afford but knowing my Hubby we really couldn't afford not to. We ended up reinventing ourselves and worked together doing the most fascinating things and meeting new people.
Unemployment isn't any fun but who knows what the Lord has in store for us. Maybe we just have to get out of the way.
Sounds a bit like what we went through in 1990. After 29 years in management Hubby was down-sized out of his job. I was a stay at home Mom. He was a workaholic and I was so concerned as he hit the wall after working so hard. Jobs were not forth coming. Hubby was too experienced, made too much pay, too old yada yada yada.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at the next 2 years was actually the beginning of the best years of our lives.
We developed some hobbies we did together, traveled some, which we couldn't really afford but knowing my Hubby we really couldn't afford not to. We ended up reinventing ourselves and worked together doing the most fascinating things and meeting new people.
Unemployment isn't any fun but who knows what the Lord has in store for us. Maybe we just have to get out of the way.