My husband Bill didn’t need to set his alarm for work this morning. He was laid off yesterday. It is the first time he’s been unemployed since the early 1980’s.
It’s not entirely unexpected. Things at work have been very, very difficult for months, and several of his colleagues have left the company – either through layoff or by finding new jobs. Today, yet another group of people including Bill were given their walking papers.
We have faced many other trials in recent years including serious health challenges, the loss of our house, death of a parent, a fractured relationship with a member of our family, and the chaos of our current rental home which was plagued with black mold. We hope to move out of this rental home by year’s end at the latest, but without employment, who will rent to us?
I came back from a sunny week of respite in Florida late Monday evening, and am grateful for the grace of being present yesterday so Bill and I can begin this new chapter of our lives together. God is good, and has always been faithful to us in the midst of all the hard stuff we’ve faced. We choose to cling to him now, and solicit your prayers for us as we walk into an uncertain future.
Specifically:
– For God’s provision of full-time work for Bill…soon.
– For direction regarding housing.
– For focus for me. I signed a contract just two weeks ago to write a book about exile and pilgrimage. I will be living this message in ways I never would have dreamed as I write.
– That we will continue to honor God through this, no matter what comes
Thanks, friend. You are a gift to us.
P.S. – If you’d like to see more about what Bill does (software compliance and project management), his Linked In profile has some basics: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wvanloon/.
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