Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey. ~Fitzhugh Mullan
I see my life as a journey. The destination is the home of my Master. On the road I have distractions, diversions, detours, obstructions, and even roadblocks. I have resting places and my little sanctuaries where I meet with my Lord. I have freedom to do things I enjoy as well as things I must and should do for my Master. People may be walking along with me in the same direction for a time, sometimes a short time and sometimes we enjoy each other's company for a long time. I often get very comfortable with my fellow journeymen and do not wish to part ways, but sometimes my work for my Master requires just that. Sometimes the road is smooth and easy to walk and other times I wonder why it is so difficult to travel.
It seems it has been a rough road for us in the last few months. Now I am grateful and amazed at the ease of the journey. In fact, I look forward to each step as though my Lord is personally guiding me, showing me exactly where to step.
The change in my husband's job seems to have some similarity. He handed over his resignation last week and they are treating him well, quite well. Seeing how others have been treated in the past, he is really surprised and here again my Lord has shown us that He has prepared the way as my husband goes from one highway to another. Previously his current job was exactly where he was to go...at the time. My Lord provided him the job when he was let go and before his severance pay ran out. It was in a place that was respectful of religious beliefs, for which my husband had prayed, with many Jews and Christians in the workplace. He even visited Israel several times, which was a strong desire and an answer to his prayers. My husband was recognized and promoted for which I had prayed and my Lord promised me.
However, I have begun to see that even in God's blessings there is a time and place, that they sometimes are only for a season, or the means to another end, or perhaps...a means to another means. Now I see that my Lord planned this current job to only be a connecting highway to another. My husband was trained and learned skills while in that job that made him an even better match for the new company once he updated his résumé, so well-matched that they were willing to pay him well to get him. I must say that there is a certain obligation one feels when offered good pay for a job. One cannot help but wonder if he will meet their expectations, but I have confidence in my Lord and His preparations.
Next week my husband officially turns off one highway as he connects with another. He has to leave those who were traveling in the same direction and meet new sojourners. He has not told anyone other than his immediate managers and one former manager, that is the former manager who was forced to let him go at the last company and then he left himself within weeks also for his present job. Ironically, that is happening again but a bit differently. Last time, he had to let my husband go and this time my husband has been offered a job before leaving and he has a different manager. The similarity is in this: his former boss is also planning his own exodus in a few weeks. Like my husband, he also is going to a smaller company different from the one my husband will be, but still one that treats their customers and employees better.
My husband was asked by his manager if it was just the money. You see, I had forgotten to write here about how my husband and others without excellent reviews were not going to get the five percent cut back as the company had promised. This cut was a company wide cut taken two years ago that had nothing to do with performance and there was no mention in the November email of the proposal to reinstate the pay levels that it would be based on reviews...even the managers writing the reviews did not know. So, my husband did not get a raise with his promotion, did not get a bonus at the end of the year, did not get even a cost of living raise, and now also had no hope of getting back the money they cut from his salary two years ago. I think the Lord made it really easy for my husband, who is rather loyal, to know the offer from the other company was His will.
The later part of next week, my husband will be in Chicago and then the next three weeks he will be in training in the United Kingdom. This week he is working on helping set up machines in the demo room and logging all the parts and items he needs to return to end his employment.
On the home front, my husband is now looking at used mini-vans with low mileage. I usually get so anxious about spending money, but we are in agreement about the general amount and I feel this odd sense of "I should be more worried than I am." I just have so much confidence that the Lord is going to make that choice just as obvious and easy for us.
It is such a deliciously strange feeling to have so much faith and trust, to feel wrapped in His Kingdom as if it were a soft, warm blanket against the chill of the world...I so hope it lasts and lasts!
~ My Lord, thank you so much for Your blessings, but mostly thank you for the peace You have given us during this time of change. Please continue to guide us.~
