Lost Your Job?

(This issue may not be for you, but you never know. Plus, if you know someone who might benefit from reading it, please forward it to them)

So, you lost your job, huh? Bummer.

In June of 2015, I lost my job. I was a 50-year-old without a career. Here are a few things I've discovered after over 7 years since (maybe they will help shorten your processing time):

1. The worst I imagined happening never happened. I thought I would be reduced to nothingness. I didn't know what nothingness looked like, I just knew I was bound for it and it wasn't going to be pretty. But not only is nothingness a myth, I could make a case that I am better off now than I was before I lost my job and career (perhaps another issue for another time.)
2. The voices get loud. I fight voices that have always been in my head. I don't believe I'm the only one who does. Years ago, at the prompting of my wife, I visited our family doctor to be told what I suffered from was a mild depression. Contrary to what you might think, the mind in depression isn't a quiet, lonely place. It's in fact a noisy grand central station of a myriad of voices. And they aren't very constructive. I've learned to quiet these voices through medication and meditation over the years. But in that fateful 2015 moment of time, the voices rose up with renewed vigor. "You're no good." "Who would ever hire you, you're too old." "You failed. No one is looking for a failure." "You're going to end up greeting people at Wal Mart." [Suggestion: Acknowledge the voices. Listen to them. Give them time. That's all they want. Once you do, they'll begin to quiet down.]
3. Real relationships matter. I learned not to shut out my most encouraging and real relationships. They are the glue that holds you together while you do your time in the cave of brokenness. Let these people, these good people, be around you and comfort you. Now is not the time to be a macho maverick.
4. The tendency is to speed up. I felt driven to quickly find a solution that would replace the stability that I lost. So, I jumped at opportunities. This cost me money, stress, and precious time. Sure, I learned from it all. But I would have gone farther faster if I'd only stopped to reflect on all I was thinking, feeling, and emoting.
5. Time doesn't heal, God does and He uses time. Let me say flat out: I was deeply disappointed and angry with the God I had served all my life. We were doing good work (we designed and built churches across America). We had $20 million in backlog. We had created over 760 buildings that held worship and ministry. How could that all melt away? Why? But true to form, God was patient with my impatience. He was kind in the face of my rudeness to him. Eventually, I came to acknowledge that I had God figured out. My formula was this: I give him tithe and do good works and He rewards with stability and blessing. Wrong! If you ever have God figured out, he's not God, he's your little god. There is so much more to God than what I had figured out. He continues to show me this as I look into the rearview mirror of the past 7 years.
6. There are so many more lessons I've learned (and are still discovering). Maybe there's a book in there somewhere. Nevertheless, I hope I have given you hope, my friend. And I hope I haven't come off like I have it all figured out or that I am somehow intolerant if you don't believe in the God I believe in.

My aim with this issue is to let you know that life is full of ups and downs. Some of those downs are profound. If you're there, I want you to know you're not alone.

Perhaps something in this article has sparked some acceleration in your growth process. If so, I would be ecstatic.

If you'd like to share with me, that would be wonderful.

The time you took to read this issue of the Serve Strong Finish Strong newsletter is greatly appreciated. Thank you. It's a privilege to write it for you.

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