Well, for all of you who sent the congratulations messages within the last 24 hours, thank you, but hold your applause!! We have certainly experienced our fair share of job losses, new jobs, and relocations as a result, however, this may by far be the fastest turn around time yet!! It certainly does make for great blog material since so many of you seem to look forward to "following" our life's shananigans (and hopefully learning a few lessons from us along the way, as we make ourselves transparent for the sake of ministry)!
So here's the update as wacky as it all seems, well it IS...it's the Fox Family after all! Is anything about us ordinary?! :) So as you know (and if you don't, read my Principles vs. Preferences post to get the overview as to how we got to this point), Harry lost his Project Manager position with his company on September 8th, due to his decision to stand by his principles rather than preferences and not participate in some activities that his boss was requiring him to participate in.
So, for the past near 2 months now, we have struggled to make ends meet as we were just coming to the recovery point of being downsized the year prior to taking that job and relocating our lives to do so. I could give numerous illustrations of God's faithfulness to us throughout this process and creative ways that He has allowed us to get by without skipping a beat. However over the last week as the bank accounts decrease and the opportunities to do odds and ends around the neighborhood fade, bills are due, vehicles desperately need tune ups, etc., and dozens of resumes are sent out daily to no avail in this economy in a career industry that has been hard hit by it, things were looking bleak, and our faith was definitely being tested.
As we yet again did the role reversal yesterday morning and I left for work at 5:30 am and Harry stayed behind and started his to do list which consisted of getting the 2 little girls up, dressed, groomed, fed breakfast, lunches made, backpacks packed, waiting in the carpool line, homeschooling the 11th grader, teaching Chemistry and Geometry, going grocery shopping and cleaning the house, all while aggressively job searching, his self esteem and manhood continued to take a decline as I left him about in tears. For ME, the pessimist, to be running low on gas in my faith tank, would be completely normal, but Harry NEVER loses hope, so for HIM to say, "I need to read this book on breakthrough prayer and spend some time in prayer this morning because I am seriously running out of faith," is a HUGE statement! Understandable when you've just endured extreme persecution for the past 14 months of your life and stood strong by the "right" thing to do and lost your career because of it, only to seemingly watch the "bad guy" win while you suffer and justice doesn't seem to come. Easy to begin to rely on those good ole feelings and what we see, rather than the truth of God's promises and hope despite the unseen, in the thick of testing.
So back to leaving a discouraged husband as I went to work yesterday morning...within the next couple of hours, answered prayer. The recruiting agency calls to inform Harry that the interview he had last week had resulted in that company wanting to hire him however, there were some negotiations to go back and forth to come up with a deal. That happened, it was a done deal, he was officially hired as a Senior Project Manager (which would have been a promotion) and told to report to the office at 8am today for work. This morning, he got dressed in his business clothes and reported to his new company's main office at 8 as instructed only to find the office locked and no other employees there for work yet. He waited until 8:30 when a Project Engineer showed up for work and saw him there waiting and seemed to know nothing about him starting work today. She called the owner of the company who told her to inform Harry to call his recruiter. He did so, very confused, and was told that the owner of the company emailed her (the recruiter) late last night (which she just received when reporting to the office this morning), that they were pulling back from their decision, and going to re-group and make a final decision at the end of the week.
To back up, we were unsure about taking a position with this company from the beginning after doing some research and finding it was owned and operated primarily by Muslims and as Christians, we were unsure as to how that would all work out and if that was in fact God's desire for Harry. After much prayer and outside counsel, we felt like it was an opportunity on many levels and were excited about it where we had been reluctant. However, we did pray, that if this was not God's will, that He would SLAM the door shut and open another! Well, when Harry called discouraged with the news, my response (after my initial crying and carrying on hysteria of we are doomed subsided), was, "Well, the door can't be slammed shut any further! I prayed God would slam the door shut if He didn't want you there and I guess he slammed it...literally!!"
So, here's my relationship with God...I hung up and said in a pretty "I mean it Mr." voice, "Ok God, are you slamming this door shut? Cuz it seems like you're slamming this door shut! And I'm running out of faith here and after a year of one trial after another, I'm ready to pack it in here, so if you didn't slam that door completely shut and this is just a little kink in the process, I need you to open some sort of door and quickly cuz I'm starting to think that it just aint in your will for us to stay here and throw in the towel and start packin!" :) I'm totally not even kidding! That's honestly the conversation I had in my bathroom this morning!! :) It blows my mind, that He continues to grace me with His patience cuz I'm out of patience with myself!! :)
So there we sat, Harry and I, back at the computer screen, sending more resumes, in tears, discouraged, dumbfounded, angry, confused, every emotion common to man. After ranting and raving about his prior company and how wrong what they did was and how I suspect they are somehow involved in this and how they've ruined our lives, :) a thought came to my irrational mind. And here's the background behind this thought...last year when Harry was offered the job here, another offer was made at the same time for a friend in Richmond. At the time, after much prayer and counsel, and considering ALL factors, it appeared as though we were to take what was behind door # 1! :) However, Harry has remained in touch with that friend over the last year, and there has continued to be mutual interest in a business partnership however the timing just never seemed to be right. So my thought was, what if now is the time? Harry had just talked with the man a few weeks ago and the timing wasn't right then so it was understandable that Harry would have looked at me strange when I said, "Just give him a call!"
Harry did and within 2 hours, conversations went back and forth and he called and said, "Harry, can you start work here in Richmond for me on Monday at 8am?!" Wow! I guess when I told God He better open and close some doors quickly as I was ready to throw in the towel, that was definitely quick! So this is the best 360 life turn yet...all within a few hours, Harry reported to a new job, to find he actually didn't have a new job, to get home and be offered a different new job by the same company he should have gone to work for last year, and decisions were made that we were going home!! Well, technically we are not going home, home, as in back to our house because we are finalizing the closing on that any hour now! But it's totally fine. We're just gonna start completely over with no old baggage and not even reconsidering the contract at this point.
I DO however have clarity on one important question I've had for the past 6 weeks...what to do with these boxes that I just packed and haven't finished unpacking yet since I didn't plan on our entire life turning upside down days after unloading the moving truck and needing to go back to work and not knowing for sure if we would even be able to stay here without Harry's income!! Looks like there was a very good reason I have lived in complete frustration about something ALWAYS changing my plans on the days I had it scheduled to unpack, organize, decorate, and settle into our new home! God knew in advance that it would be a complete waste of my time! :)
Hey, I bet Harry and I could enter some world records in 2 categories (at least) on this one...the record for starting and finishing a new job all in a matter of minutes!!!! And, the record for FOUR address changes at the Post Office in 14 MONTHS!!!! No worries...if anyone wants the title or crown on this one, we are more than happy to pass it on!! Here's to hoping for Walking in Victory over a very, very, very LONG stay at our new office and home address...and going HOME...for GOOD!!! :)
I leave you with this...as YOU seek wisdom for life's trials today...what decision are you facing? Are you at a crossroad in life? Are you facing job loss? Home loss? Marriage crisis? Rebelling child? Don't know how you'll meet the budget? Attack? Persecution? Injustice? Suffering? Depressed? Weary? Battling Addiction? What thoughts and emotions do you need to take captive and make obedient to the truth and promises of God's Word regardless of feelings and circumstances? What do you need to walk in victory over?
Don't lose hope! There is NO situation too big for God! He can change things in a matter of minutes! We are living proof of that! And we are also living proof that sometimes, it means looooong seasons of intense testing as well. This life is a journey, a story, with many chapters, twists and turns, some predictable, some unexpected. Your story is still being written! Some will be more colorful than others. THOSE are the one's that will impact lives, including your own! When seeking wisdom for life's trials no matter what those trials are? Always remember my bathroom conversation with God on 10/26/11..."What He opens, no one can shut, and what He shuts, no one can open..." Revelation 3:8 What open and closed doors are before YOU?
So here's the update as wacky as it all seems, well it IS...it's the Fox Family after all! Is anything about us ordinary?! :) So as you know (and if you don't, read my Principles vs. Preferences post to get the overview as to how we got to this point), Harry lost his Project Manager position with his company on September 8th, due to his decision to stand by his principles rather than preferences and not participate in some activities that his boss was requiring him to participate in.
So, for the past near 2 months now, we have struggled to make ends meet as we were just coming to the recovery point of being downsized the year prior to taking that job and relocating our lives to do so. I could give numerous illustrations of God's faithfulness to us throughout this process and creative ways that He has allowed us to get by without skipping a beat. However over the last week as the bank accounts decrease and the opportunities to do odds and ends around the neighborhood fade, bills are due, vehicles desperately need tune ups, etc., and dozens of resumes are sent out daily to no avail in this economy in a career industry that has been hard hit by it, things were looking bleak, and our faith was definitely being tested.
As we yet again did the role reversal yesterday morning and I left for work at 5:30 am and Harry stayed behind and started his to do list which consisted of getting the 2 little girls up, dressed, groomed, fed breakfast, lunches made, backpacks packed, waiting in the carpool line, homeschooling the 11th grader, teaching Chemistry and Geometry, going grocery shopping and cleaning the house, all while aggressively job searching, his self esteem and manhood continued to take a decline as I left him about in tears. For ME, the pessimist, to be running low on gas in my faith tank, would be completely normal, but Harry NEVER loses hope, so for HIM to say, "I need to read this book on breakthrough prayer and spend some time in prayer this morning because I am seriously running out of faith," is a HUGE statement! Understandable when you've just endured extreme persecution for the past 14 months of your life and stood strong by the "right" thing to do and lost your career because of it, only to seemingly watch the "bad guy" win while you suffer and justice doesn't seem to come. Easy to begin to rely on those good ole feelings and what we see, rather than the truth of God's promises and hope despite the unseen, in the thick of testing.
So back to leaving a discouraged husband as I went to work yesterday morning...within the next couple of hours, answered prayer. The recruiting agency calls to inform Harry that the interview he had last week had resulted in that company wanting to hire him however, there were some negotiations to go back and forth to come up with a deal. That happened, it was a done deal, he was officially hired as a Senior Project Manager (which would have been a promotion) and told to report to the office at 8am today for work. This morning, he got dressed in his business clothes and reported to his new company's main office at 8 as instructed only to find the office locked and no other employees there for work yet. He waited until 8:30 when a Project Engineer showed up for work and saw him there waiting and seemed to know nothing about him starting work today. She called the owner of the company who told her to inform Harry to call his recruiter. He did so, very confused, and was told that the owner of the company emailed her (the recruiter) late last night (which she just received when reporting to the office this morning), that they were pulling back from their decision, and going to re-group and make a final decision at the end of the week.
To back up, we were unsure about taking a position with this company from the beginning after doing some research and finding it was owned and operated primarily by Muslims and as Christians, we were unsure as to how that would all work out and if that was in fact God's desire for Harry. After much prayer and outside counsel, we felt like it was an opportunity on many levels and were excited about it where we had been reluctant. However, we did pray, that if this was not God's will, that He would SLAM the door shut and open another! Well, when Harry called discouraged with the news, my response (after my initial crying and carrying on hysteria of we are doomed subsided), was, "Well, the door can't be slammed shut any further! I prayed God would slam the door shut if He didn't want you there and I guess he slammed it...literally!!"
So, here's my relationship with God...I hung up and said in a pretty "I mean it Mr." voice, "Ok God, are you slamming this door shut? Cuz it seems like you're slamming this door shut! And I'm running out of faith here and after a year of one trial after another, I'm ready to pack it in here, so if you didn't slam that door completely shut and this is just a little kink in the process, I need you to open some sort of door and quickly cuz I'm starting to think that it just aint in your will for us to stay here and throw in the towel and start packin!" :) I'm totally not even kidding! That's honestly the conversation I had in my bathroom this morning!! :) It blows my mind, that He continues to grace me with His patience cuz I'm out of patience with myself!! :)
So there we sat, Harry and I, back at the computer screen, sending more resumes, in tears, discouraged, dumbfounded, angry, confused, every emotion common to man. After ranting and raving about his prior company and how wrong what they did was and how I suspect they are somehow involved in this and how they've ruined our lives, :) a thought came to my irrational mind. And here's the background behind this thought...last year when Harry was offered the job here, another offer was made at the same time for a friend in Richmond. At the time, after much prayer and counsel, and considering ALL factors, it appeared as though we were to take what was behind door # 1! :) However, Harry has remained in touch with that friend over the last year, and there has continued to be mutual interest in a business partnership however the timing just never seemed to be right. So my thought was, what if now is the time? Harry had just talked with the man a few weeks ago and the timing wasn't right then so it was understandable that Harry would have looked at me strange when I said, "Just give him a call!"
Harry did and within 2 hours, conversations went back and forth and he called and said, "Harry, can you start work here in Richmond for me on Monday at 8am?!" Wow! I guess when I told God He better open and close some doors quickly as I was ready to throw in the towel, that was definitely quick! So this is the best 360 life turn yet...all within a few hours, Harry reported to a new job, to find he actually didn't have a new job, to get home and be offered a different new job by the same company he should have gone to work for last year, and decisions were made that we were going home!! Well, technically we are not going home, home, as in back to our house because we are finalizing the closing on that any hour now! But it's totally fine. We're just gonna start completely over with no old baggage and not even reconsidering the contract at this point.
I DO however have clarity on one important question I've had for the past 6 weeks...what to do with these boxes that I just packed and haven't finished unpacking yet since I didn't plan on our entire life turning upside down days after unloading the moving truck and needing to go back to work and not knowing for sure if we would even be able to stay here without Harry's income!! Looks like there was a very good reason I have lived in complete frustration about something ALWAYS changing my plans on the days I had it scheduled to unpack, organize, decorate, and settle into our new home! God knew in advance that it would be a complete waste of my time! :)
Hey, I bet Harry and I could enter some world records in 2 categories (at least) on this one...the record for starting and finishing a new job all in a matter of minutes!!!! And, the record for FOUR address changes at the Post Office in 14 MONTHS!!!! No worries...if anyone wants the title or crown on this one, we are more than happy to pass it on!! Here's to hoping for Walking in Victory over a very, very, very LONG stay at our new office and home address...and going HOME...for GOOD!!! :)
I leave you with this...as YOU seek wisdom for life's trials today...what decision are you facing? Are you at a crossroad in life? Are you facing job loss? Home loss? Marriage crisis? Rebelling child? Don't know how you'll meet the budget? Attack? Persecution? Injustice? Suffering? Depressed? Weary? Battling Addiction? What thoughts and emotions do you need to take captive and make obedient to the truth and promises of God's Word regardless of feelings and circumstances? What do you need to walk in victory over?
Don't lose hope! There is NO situation too big for God! He can change things in a matter of minutes! We are living proof of that! And we are also living proof that sometimes, it means looooong seasons of intense testing as well. This life is a journey, a story, with many chapters, twists and turns, some predictable, some unexpected. Your story is still being written! Some will be more colorful than others. THOSE are the one's that will impact lives, including your own! When seeking wisdom for life's trials no matter what those trials are? Always remember my bathroom conversation with God on 10/26/11..."What He opens, no one can shut, and what He shuts, no one can open..." Revelation 3:8 What open and closed doors are before YOU?
WOW! I feel like I just watched a crazy table tennis match! Many times I have found myself crying out this verse -- O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
ReplyDelete(2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV) We don not know what to do, but our eyes are on you...I love that verse. Read through the whole chapter; it has so much application to your situation. I love that Jehoshaphat put his eyes on the Lord, and not on the horde! That's so hard to do when life is pressing in from all sides. What's always amazed me about this story is that God tells them to take their position and stand -- that's it! HE was fighting their battle!! And as they worshipped, GOD sent ambushments against their enemies. Thanks for sharing your stories, Jennifer! Your testimony is a blessing and encouragement to many.