Today ends the third week in the new job. I am settled into going to the office every day; I worked from home for over four years in the old position. Work is starting to come my way with more responsibilities on the horizon.
I used to think that working from home was the best possible way to work. But I do realize now that the interaction with co-workers is very important. Even after three weeks, I’m still the new guy, somewhat of an outsider. Even though I have been with the company for over 10 years. I know that will change as time goes on but it is very strange. I observe the interaction in the office and understand how important it really is. The camaraderie that results from working with the same people each day is a dynamic that is very important for everyone. The company also does a great job with activities and meals to keep the morale up even in the midst of layoffs and the poor economy. It also helps when the group you work in had their best month ever in October.
As a Christian, its a little like being in a monastery when you work from home every day. How can we be salt and light to the world but by being out there in the world. So, as the relationships grow in my new work group, I pray for opportunities to share my faith.
The two weeks of intensive job search have passed. I have explored several possibilities. As well as a couple of opportunities externally, all last week I was getting hints from HR that management was working on transferring me to another business group. I went on one interview with one of our partners and had a phone interview on a position with the Sun business group.
On Friday, I got word from HR that it was practically certain that a transfer would be approved and that my severance would not be processed. We would know for sure on Monday morning.
This morning, HR called and confirmed that I would be transferred to the HP business unit. She did not know who I would be reporting to or exactly what I would be doing. She assured me it woud be a lateral move. Later in the day, after I emailed HR, I received a call from one of the managers who again confirmed the position and gave me some of the details on the new role.
This looks like an excellent opportunity that I really want to jump into.
I was prepared for whatever way God would lead so even if there had been no position for me, I would have been good with that. This is a great lesson for me. I have to learn to put my complete trust in the Lord and let him move in His ways.
Its near the end of the day, so I have only a couple of days left at this job. In my job search, this has been a very productive week. After contacting many in my network of contacts and customers, I now have a face to face interview tomorrow, a phone interview Monday, and there are signs that a new position may be made available internally.
Thanks to God, I have been very upbeat when talking to people. I have talked to so many customers who are not hiring because of the uncertainty in the economy. It will be the end of the year before most of them starting thinking about adding to their staffs. And then it will depend on the economy.
Again, my trust is in he Lord. It is so good to see how He is working in this whole situation. Without that assurance, it would be so easy to sink into dispair at times like this. But I am holding on to the promise of Romans 8:28.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We had a great trip visiting my daughter and grand-daughters in TN at the end of September. I came back to work on Oct. 1. Oct. 2, I received a call from my manager and an HR manager. I was read the standard legalese which stated that management had decided that I would not be a good fit for the jobs that I had applied for. October 16 would be my last day unless I could find another position internally.
Actually, I thought this day may come since the company had announced a “restructuring” of jobs back in July. Our positions would be eliminated and new ones were created with different focus. They gave all of us an opportunity to apply and interview for the ones that were interesting. But since then, management had been mute on what was going on.
I found out later that only one other co-worker received the same call on Oct. 2. There are a number of others that even now don’t know what is going on with their jobs. I would have expected management to extend offers to those that were not eliminated. But as of Friday, that had not happened.
In the past, layoffs had been very sudden. The 2 weeks notice is very unusual. But I know that its for us to finish up or transition projects to others. But I feel very fortunate that I did get the extra time. I think I have been using it productively. On Monday, I began contacting my LinkedIn contacts and internal people that I had worked with. I noticed a position open with one of our other business groups and I applied for that. I called the manager and we had an initial phone interview on Tuesday. I was also able to obtain recommendations from some of the internal people as well as customers. At this time, I am hoping that something will happen with that. My resume has been forwarded to one of our partner companies and they want to do a phone interview on Tuesday.
On the emotional side, I am fighting depression. But spiritually, I am depending completely on my Lord for direction. He is the one that will show me His plan for the rest of my life. He will open or close doors. When I start to get a little depressed, I try to focus on that plan.
I will try to do a little journaling here to document how things go with the job search. I know that there are many people in the same situation and I solicit any comments.
This is the title of the latest book by Mark R. Levin, constitutional lawyer and nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host. In fact, Liberty and Tyranny has been the best selling hardback non-fiction on the NYT best seller list for the past 7 weeks.
The subtitle of his book is “A Conservative Manifesto”. I just finished this book and it echoed my concerns about the direction our country has been going. Since FDR, we have been going away from the principles that were the very foundation of our consititution. Depending on the administration in power, we speed or slow the process. He talks about principles such as liberty for all, faith in our Creator, federalism and states rights, the free market. He talks about how the welfare state, enviro-statism, immigration policies since the 60’s have pushed those founding principles in the background. With the current administration, we see the constitutional principles trampled on more than ever. We are literally on the verge of become a socialist country.
These are the things he talks about on his radio show. And now this book is reaching a lot of people as evidenced by its best seller status for so many weeks. I urge everyone, especially conservatives to buy or borrow this book and read it and decide if you agree with his 10-point “Conservative Manifesto”. And if you do, get active and become a part of the solution.
He ends the book with a quote from President Reagan: ”Freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Sue and I decided to do something a little different this Easter. We wanted to have our own sunrise service. I did some research and found that the sunrise on Saturday was at 6:05 and so we wanted to be in place before sunrise. Checking most of the parks with mountains, the gates open at 6AM. So I was left with trying to find a place that we could get into earlier. We settled on going to Saguaro Lake and watching the sun come up over the water.
We got up about 4:30am and pulled into the very dark parking lot at Saguaro Lake at about 5:30. There was only a van parked down at the end of the lot. It was very dark and very quiet, much like when we go camping. The lake surface was like glass and there was no movement. As the sky began to lighten, I could tell that we would not be able to actually see the sun come up over the horizon. But the beauty of the sunlight shining on the mountains on the east side of the lake make the trip worthwhile.
At about 6AM, we prayed, we took communion, we discussed what the crucifixion means to each of us. As the sun came up, the only activity on the lake was the ducks quacking as they jumped on the water from their hideouts in the bushes. That was very cool. Only one boat entered the lake and, thank goodness, he did not speed out fast but took his time getting out quietly, to his favorite fishing hole I’m sure.
Soon a truck came up and parked near one of the small fishing docks. As it got lighter, they all went out on the dock and began the morning, hopefully catching a meal for later.
Sue and I left as the deputies were just starting to work at the gate. The next part of our plan was to have breakfast at one of our favorite places. Unfortunately, all of them were closed and we had to settle for IHOP. But we got there early enough to beat the rush.
While we were there, three young men were seated in the booth right behind me. They were very loud and, possibly had been drinking or otherwise “partying” all night. They were joking with the waitress and really just making jerks of themselves. They continued even after several families with small children were seated nearby. One made a comment about going to church that morning and another that he was a veteran of the Iraq war.
We finished our food and left but I kept thinking about these young men. They seem to be so typical of the younger generation, of which our daughter is one. God or religion is something to make a joke about and those believers are just people they can ridicule. But we have to remember that God loves them too. I pray that God shows Himself to these men in a way that He will be irresistable to them.
In today’s environment where we find our government siezing power in a way it never has before, we stand at a crossroads as a country. We are seeing the rise of a version of ’statism’ that most of us have never seen. Our leaders are driving this train down a track that seems to be leading down a steep hill and we don’t know what is at the bottom. It is kind of scary. While I think its very important for those of us who disagree to make ourselves heard in every public arena we can, we should also seek God’s will.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, ‘The Rest of the Story,’ and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation again and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called ‘One nation under God..’
Billy Graham’s Prayer For Our Nation
‘Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics…. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!’
