Roller Coaster

My husband has been out of work now for 3 months. It feels like he has been applying for jobs constantly. I am no longer able to keep track of what, where or whom he has put in an application for.

The first part of December he had a couple of interviews and one in particular looked like it actually might turn into something. Promising enough that we felt confident that we would see a change in our employment status the first part of the year. Since not much was happening with the Holidays  we let the job searching rest and just enjoyed the time together.

The first part of January my husband got word that the job we had thought looked so promising was not going to happen. He contacted the other company he had also interviewed with and they said they hadn't filled the position yet and were still looking. Basically don't count on it. That same day he received two emails from other companies he had applied for saying they had decided to not hire anyone at this time. In one day we went from hopeful, to where do we turn to now? Feelings of despair and anxiety truly did manifest themselves.

A couple of days later my husband couldn't sleep and was feeling very anxious about trying to find a job. He turned to the scriptures and repeatedly the words Stand and Be Still kept sticking out to him. Almost the opposite of his feelings. He needed to find a job. Needed to know what the future is going to bring. He wanted answers now and we don't have them. There wasn't a lot of prospects currently and it was truly frustrating. Those words spoke to him and said, Be Patient.

That same evening he went to round table and came home a little later than usual. He shared with me that he had run into a co-worker from his days of working at Geneva Steel. Someone he hadn't spoken to in over 10 years. In the course of talking, which naturally led to jobs, he learned that this co-worker was still working at the same place and that very day they had just lost two engineers. Plans were not known if they were going to hire on replacements but this friend would definitely keep my husband in mind. My husband felt that this wasn't coincidence and it was the Lord's way of saying, I'm still here.

These two experiences was what he needed to be able start back again into this job looking process. The next day I finished teaching piano and heard my husband's cell phone. I immediately answered it, something I never do unless I know who it is.  It ended up being a HR person calling to set up a phone interview for a job in Washington. I was grateful I had headed the notion to just answer the phone. My husband had another  interview. BUT it was out of state. Out of state, that meant moving. Applying for jobs out of state and then actually interviewing for a job out of state is a whole different ball park. We couldn't stop our minds from whirling around all the changes that would mean. It was exciting but mostly scary and I knew this would be hard. What a bundle of thoughts one phone call could create. Those thoughts consumed our weekend.

The Lord must of known we needed some hope of not having to move. Monday evening, my husband applied for a job about a hour away from us. The next day, just before we sat down to lunch, the phone rang and it was the vice president of the company my husband had applied to the previous day. Before the kids were done eating, my husband was preparing for an interview that afternoon. This interview also helped to ease the pressure of the Washington interview for it no longer felt like that job was the only option.

By the end of January my husband had gone through three interviews. Interviews that went well. We would just have to wait and see what happens. Feeling hopeful again.

Waiting.... Yep we are still waiting.........Things aren't looking promising........ Each company has certain things they are looking for in potential employees. At each interview my husband knew there was some skills and experience he didn't have. It is always just a question  if someone else does and what a company ends up paying.

Right now we aren't feeling that hopeful. In fact, feeling like we are back at square one. Some days are filled with anxiety and other days it's easier to Be Still and patient. We are hanging in there but boy would it be nice to know what the future is bringing.