Looking Back

As many of you know, a year ago this past week my husband Jon lost his job as a mortgage loan underwriter for a bank that he had worked at for almost seven years.  I remember that day like it was yesterday.  I remember the afternoon when he came home early and gave me the news and that immediately my head was filled with questions.  What was going on?  Why did this happen to us?  How were our bills going to be paid?  Why at this exact time in our lives were we going through this?  What were we going to do?  Leah was only 6 weeks old, and I was only half way through my twelve week maternity leave.  Naturally I wondered how in the world we were going to make ends meet when neither of us were working.  Had anybody asked me at that time what I thought the next year had in store for us I would have had no idea what to say.  All I knew is that we were in a bad situation and that we were going to have to trust that our needs would be met.  I knew that there was no way that we could survive on my income alone, and in this economy there is no telling how long a person can be out of work while looking diligently and even putting personal preferences aside.  I was scared to say the least.  That was one year ago.

I returned to work as planned, and after six months of being unemployed Jon finally got a job working for a boarding school in the area for kids with Asperger's Syndrome and high-functioning autism.  He currently works third shift four nights a week watching over the students and getting them through their morning routine to prepare for classes.  He loves his job and I am so thankful for that.  He went from an unbelievably high-stress situation to a position where he can impact people which is where his heart really is. 

As I look back at the last year I now have answers to some of my questions.  There are so many details that I have left out for sake of time, but I know that God allowed all of this to happen to us for very specific purposes.  I am constantly amazed that we have not yet had one bill go unpaid, in fact we have actually managed to eliminate several smaller debts.  I am thankful that Jon is now working in an area that he is truly gifted in.  Working with people is what he does, and I am so thankful that God has put him in the place that he is now doing just that.  He has already had a huge impact on some of those kids in the six months that he has been there.  I am also amazed at the things that we have learned through this seeming crisis.  God is in control of every situation that comes into our lives, and He has a purpose for everything even if we don't know what it is at the time.  Looking back I am thankful for the many lessons we have learned this year. :)