A Personal Economic Solution

By G. E. Shuman

I recently heard a bit of news on the car radio, which was not ‘good’ news at all. It amazes me that there is no good news to be heard anymore. Actually, I’m sure there is good news, but good news doesn’t ‘make’ the news. Bad news does make the news, and this bit of news was definitely bad news. (Here’s a great diet tip. Turn your car radio on exactly at noontime, if you happen to be on your way to lunch someplace. The news flashes you hear are bound to ruin your appetite, thereby helping your diet.) Anyway, this news flash was about one particular facet of our stumbling economy, and hit home with me. The juvenile-sounding news reporter pretty much gleefully announced: “According to government sources, only twenty eight percent of ‘older’ Americans who have lost their jobs within the past year have found new ones, and most of the new jobs that were found were in areas outside of their expertise and experience, and at a lower rate of pay.” (Note here: I didn’t write that run-on sentence, someone in the news industry did.) My first thoughts after hearing that statistic were: “OLDER Americans? Did he say OLDER Americans? What is an OLDER American? Older than whom? Older than what? Older than dirt? Older than the twelve-year-old sounding reporter who so happily reported the statistic? I probably have neckties older than that guy. What does he know about ‘older’ anything? To him 1990 is probably ancient history!”

I grumbled on, on my drive to lunch, fuming a bit about that news flash, the sudden ache in the pit of my stomach, and realizing the only reason I was fuming was that I am a part of that statistic. I had lost my job within the past year, and, yes, I guess I am an ‘older’ American. (That part still frosts me a bit.) The good part is I am in the twenty eight percent of those ancient folks who has found a job. The bad part is that you may be in the… (Let’s see, 100 percent minus 28 percent ... oh yeah, I have it. You can tell I’m a product of public education, can’t you?) You may be in the seventy two percent who have not found any job at all. If this is the case, I wish you would read on, and let me tell you about my experience this past year.

First of all, if you like this next statement or not, I am sure that no one but God can see the end from the beginning in a situation like unemployment. This is something I have always known, but it is also something that is difficult to live with. Trusting God, and I mean REALLY trusting God when the chips are down, is the toughest thing I have ever done. I have no idea what your feelings about God or religion are, but if you happen to be an out-of-work believer, I know exactly what you’re going through right now. You want to trust Him, but you know you need to work on the problem too. You look online every day for work, and, so far, you have come up empty, and you hate the online jobsites, and you hate your computer so much you want to throw it through, not out of, the nearest window, and you’re very sick of looking, and some days even hate getting up in the morning. (I DID write that run-on sentence.) You feel displaced, unappreciated, and a bit useless at times. You just want a job, pray about it every day, and might even wonder why God doesn’t seem to hear your prayers. You NEED a job, and know that going to interviews with graying, (okay, gray) hair isn’t helping you a bit, no matter how many times the employer says they don’t age-discriminate. You feel that your years of experience count for nothing, and you hate the idea that this feeling might be the truth. Still, if you have faith, you want to feel that what is happening to you is in God’s plan. Believe me; I know what you are going through, as I went through it myself for nearly a year.

Our very wise pastor told me last spring that I should remember this year, and all that has happened. He said that seeing how things worked out for me and my family after we “come out the other side” of this trial would really strengthen our faith. Like I said, he is a very wise man. Today I can see that God let us go through this fire to accomplish a very good purpose. If I had been offered the wonderfully rewarding, but lower paying position I now have, when I still had the other job, I would never have considered taking it. My wife and I would have ‘known’ and agreed that we couldn’t possibly live with my making that lesser amount. After all, I had to provide for my family, and could never do so with less money than I was making. So, and you can believe this or not, I believe that God removed that obstacle. In one moment, last September, He removed the job that was keeping me more than I was keeping it. He next proceeded to show me who was really providing for my family. Guess what? It wasn’t me. I could literally write pages about the miracles of God’s provision for us this past year. It is true that our part has been to do a little creative refinancing, and we probably don’t go out to dinner as often as we used to, but that is all. We are not behind on one bill, and are thriving in our slightly less complicated and more faith-driven life.

I have now begun this brand new career that I love. The position was not from any of the two hundred plus resumes I have submitted throughout the year. It was not something I had even considered applying for. It was offered to me because of a casual conversation at a summer picnic, which just ‘happened’ to accomplish God’s will for my life. The employment began a few weeks ago, which also just happened to be only two weeks before my unemployment would run out. Humm…

No, my new job doesn’t pay a lot. Or does it? I now have more time with my children; time which is fleeting and invaluable to me. I have time to read, and to write. I have few ‘toys’, but no credit card bills. I also have great peace, in knowing that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I cannot begin to convince anyone to believe or to not believe anything, especially a story like ours, where the math just doesn’t seem to add up. The economic solution, for us, was very personal. It was simply learning to trust God, with everything. I hope that you will try it.