Thursday, July 17, 2014

Sharing Life As It Happens (long)

For the sake of transparency, I am sharing portions of an email I wrote to my life coach in response to a situation I faced this week.  I share not to boast nor sound unmoved about what happened but as a reminder to myself and maybe others that attitude and outlook can change a setback to an opportunity.  I was hurt, I was disappointed, and yes, I did get angry, but my faith in God allowed me to accept what happened, remain professional and believe God has it all under control.
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Hello Miriam,

I was informed today by my employer that today would be my last day.  I was laid-off due to “bumping rights of someone with more seniority”.  As you can imagine it came as a shock.


I believe that this was definitely a God thing.  I was sharing with my husband that I had made it my personal mission to work at this particular establishment; I had been applying for over 5 years.  So when the opportunity came up it seemed like a perfect fit.  It came during a period of confusion and uncertainty in my life, my degree coursework was really challenging in my last quarter, things with my VA client were getting weird, and I didn’t know what direction I would head toward after I graduated.  I experienced my first anxiety attack, so I cried out to God and asked him to take over.  He did, my VA contract ended and I felt a sense of relief that freed me up to focus on my education, which became manageable, and I started to get the prompting in my spirit about writing again.  However, in my need to control, when the job opportunity presented itself I jumped at the chance to live out the goal I had been pursing for 5 years.  It felt right, and then it didn’t.

Though everything seemed perfect, matching up with my undergrad studies, the people I worked with, the department I was assigned to, and the flexible, no-stress working hours, I never really felt like I belonged.  At the time of hire the director asked if I were willing to commitment to the position for a minimum of a year’s time, he was concerned that I would find the position not much of a challenging as my skills and experience outweighed the responsibilities required, to a certain degree, and he wanted to make sure he got his ROI.  I agreed.

When I started to recognize that this position was not where I was meant to be I pressed on, I wanted to honor my commitment.  I will admit I was unhappy, not with the pay, the insurance, the people, the hours, etc., but with the knowledge that I was not where I fit.  Yet, I pressed on praying and believing that God had a greater plan and if I stayed committed to my year God would reveal what was next.

So when I was called in to meet with the union rep and my supervisor and I was informed about being “bumped” I was flooded with both hurt and, again, relief!  Nobody likes to hear that they are no longer needed or wanted, no matter the circumstances, I think I was especially hurt because I had made a commitment I was going to honor, yet it was not reciprocated by the organization.  I felt dispensable, yet I knew that this was right.  Although I was only employed with the organization for 3 months they offered me a reasonable severance package based on the length of my employment.

I am thankful for the assistance and resources I was offered, yet walking to my car I realized that I never want to go through that again!  I want to control my own destiny and financial future (with God as my foundation, of course)!  So I am now even more resolved to live intentionally and take this situation and turn it into an opportunity to work toward and create a life of purpose fulfilling the plans that God has for me, and I believe that includes writing.

So here I am today, the first day of being laid-off and I have a hopeful outlook.  I am looking forward to my graduation ceremony next Saturday and to celebrating my accomplishment with my family and friends that evening with a huge party.  I am also looking forward to taking a mini-vacation with my hubby next month before we celebrate my youngest son’s 21st birthday with another get together.  Then hopefully by then this experience will be nothing but a positive memory of change and opportunity to be grateful for.

Well, I realize I got long-winded, but I just wanted to give you a glimpse of where I am.  Although we’ve only connected a few times your insights and coaching have helped me tremendously in understanding my authenticity, thank you very much.


Many blessing to you,

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