In a sign that economic recovery may be around the corner, the Labor Department announced a reverse in the unemployment rate from 5.8% in December to 5.6% in January bringing the total number of unemployed persons down from 8.3 million to 7.9 million. While this is encouraging, statistics reveal the rate for adult men went unchanged. Good news for women except, as the report points out, they are taking jobs for less money. The statistics alone are alarming and lately, it seems, we all know someone, if not ourselves, who is a victim of corporate downsizing. Never is it an opportune time to "get canned" especially now when we find ourselves recovering from the worst terrorist attack on our homeland in history and involved in a war with such a wicked enemy.
For some men and women, losing one's job is akin to losing one's identity. When our comfort zone collapses, we need to confront something other than the five projects on our desk and the meeting with our boss in the afternoon. The initial reaction can be devastating spanning feelings of betrayal, failure, and fear later evolving into anger, depression, and anxiety. Faced with an immediate future that lacks familiar routine and stability, one is forced into an unwanted role that requires of it time, labored patience, and faith. Faith in oneself - faith life won't leave you hanging - won't release its grip on you.
Karl Richardson, a former Performance Analyst at JP Morgan, lost his job on October 15. Like many, Karl was called into his boss' office and told to pack his things and go. As the first of one-third of JP Morgan's employees whose future was single-handedly thwarted, Karl, along with the others, instantly learned that benevolence in his business didn't exist. What does one do?
Six months prior, Karl considered leaving JP Morgan to pursue other interests. As the economy dragged its feet, he decided not to hedge his bets. Six months later, the decision was made for him. Because Karl's long-term interests pulled him outside of JP Morgan, he was able to look at his situation more as an opportunity than as doomsday. But opportunity still has its costs. For an optimistic person, Karl still faces the challenge of landing another job to pay his bills and keep his health insurance. But his biggest challenge has been giving up the need to know why. 'Why did I lose my job' and 'why can't I find another job' are questions that go unanswered even though economic indicators offer explanation. Perhaps as Rainier Marie Rilke once wrote; 'We must live the questions now.' And for Karl, he's living the questions rather than demanding answers…. what he knows is he's lost his job and what he's doing is searching for a new one.
Karl knows what it's like to rely on faith when he's doing everything he can do to pursue a job. Yes, the consequences of losing health insurance and running out of money linger in the back of his mind, but his peace comes from looking deeper into life. Concentrating on what we don't have consumes us while concentrating on what we do have frees us. Karl is thankful for his health, knowing his friends and family support him, and knowing, too, that although he doesn't have the answers there's a current of confidence reminding him that God has his best interests at heart.
Almost 4 months later, Karl continues to research and pursue openings in a disciplined and organized fashion. He carries a binder with him with copies of his resume, job openings with the company's background, a list of follow-ups - he even has a type-written page reminding him exactly what he's looking for so he stays the course. Determined to stay focused, he spends more time strengthening his faith through prayer, a time when he's reminded to focus on the solution not the problem, ask for vision and discernment through his search, and reflect on his life's purpose in the short term as well as the long term. This transition has strengthened Karl's faith and continues to build his character. On the days when it seems like all doors close and none open, Karl trusts not in himself but in a higher power, knowing that his future is secure not because he dreams it to be but because it's promised to him: "May I not let my heart be troubled; let me trust in You, O God, and trust also in Christ." - John 14:1
