GEN friends, we are delighted to tell you that our member Steve D. has accepted a new job. Congratulations, Steve! He gave us permission to share his email to the church office, which appears below:
Everyone,
As many of you know, I have been unemployed since March 1 of this year. I have good news to report! On Friday, I received notification that I have been selected for a contract programming position at the Georgia Department of Labor in Atlanta, starting Monday, October 5th. To say that I am glad to be going back to work again is an understatement.
I want to thank everyone for their encouragement and their prayers during this difficult time. Over the past 6 + months, I learned some very important lessons about myself and about life. First and foremost, I learned that my job doesn’t define who I am nor does it determine my worth and value as a person. I am who God says I am in His word – a dearly loved child, forgiven, righteous, holy and blameless in His sight. My performance at work has nothing to do with this. Secondly, I learned that I can trust God to take care of me in the midst of the storms. The Lord, who promises to provide for our needs, is faithful to His word. Lastly, I learned empathy for those who have lost their jobs and continue to struggle financially. I will continue to pray for those who are looking for work and I will do all that I can to help them as the Lord directs.
I learned to not give up hope, no matter how difficult things may be. Do all that you can do and then trust the Lord to do the rest. Those of us who follow Christ are on an exciting journey of faith and trust. Michael Yaconelli, author of Messy Spirituality, had this to say about the spiritual life - “I am following the Son of God who said, “Listen to me! I’m playing this music and if you’ll listen to the music of your heart and of your soul and you follow me - I’ll guarantee you, I’ll guarantee you - that at the end of your life, you will say, ‘Man! It was worth every second of it!’”
I am learning to trust the One who made me and who has a plan for my life. The road ahead will have ups and downs, unexpected turns, detours and surprises. The spiritual life is a lot like a roller coaster, but when we reach the end we can say “What a ride! What a ride!”.
Steve
Congratulations Steve! You don't know me, but I read this blog weekly and your note encouraged me in my own search for a job, especially the part about trusting God and not giving up hope no matter how difficult things may be. I have been very discouraged lately as I have searched and searched for a job with nothing to show for all of the resumes and applications I've turned in, and I needed to hear that word of encouragement. Thanks for sending it! God bless you in your new job. I hope you really enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Steve! You don't know me, but I read this blog weekly. Thank you for posting your note. It really encouraged me, especially the part about trusting in God and never giving up hope even when things are hard. I have been discouraged with the search lately as I have turned in countless resumes and applications with nothing to show for it. I needed that uplifting word. Thank you! God bless you on your new job. I hope you thoroughly enjoy it!
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