Answered Prayers

Almost 7 weeks ago on April 30th the company who acquired PSI let my husband go. The company which my in-laws fought so hard to find, and were told many things they would do. Yet they have not followed through on, decided he was no longer important enough to keep. From a job he has had for almost 13 years. One he has left home in the middle of the night for countless times, climbed on a roof in the pouring rain to checkout key operating equipment, stayed late to have work done, or fix a critical instrument for testing. He was always willing to put in whatever work needed to be done. He not only enjoyed his job, but cared about the people working there. This company swooped in and without ever fully getting to know him or what he did there, they decided to form opinions about him, and ultimately decided he wasn't worth keeping around. We were surprised and yet not at all. Joshua actually suspected something was up that morning based on a few details that were strange. This isn't a story about him being let go though. This is a story about how big our God is and how we got a front row seat to pieces in a very beautiful puzzle.

The morning of April 30th I was on my way to a MOPS meeting. The first one we had scheduled in 3 weeks. Most Tuesday mornings I drop Tobias off at preschool and then I am by myself until lunchtime. That morning he called me while I was driving to MOPS and told me something weird was going on, he couldn't access his account, and figured out it was disabled, then two people from corporate showed up unannounced. While we were chatting he got called into a meeting with those people. I ended the call and just had the worst feeling. I texted Caitlyn to pray for Joshua, and that something wasn't right. I made it to MOPS and was there barely 5 minutes when he called again to tell me that he was no longer employed by SGS. I was in shock, I was angry, he was their biggest supporter and cheerleader. They of course never thought that, but behind the scenes he was. They didn't care though. They didn't see value in him or his job, it wasn't personal they said. The exact same words they spoke to his Mom before letting her go that morning as well. These are the details, the important part of this story is to know that I would normally be alone that morning. Instead I was surrounded by friends who love me, who hugged me and didn't ask questions, who sat and listened to me relay what had happened. I don't consider this a coincidence, God knew this would happen. He knew I needed to be surrounded by those who love me. I later found out that church leadership was praying for us during this time. I know that God fully answered that. After my initial meltdown I only ever felt peace. I wasn't panicked. I very easily could have fallen apart, but God just gave me immense peace about everything. 

That evening we got together as a family. We not only wanted to come together in support but we had a HUGE answer to prayer. One we never thought to pray for. After a super hard year and several miserable months, my MIL had also been let go. She was so overjoyed at her unexpected early retirement, we couldn't let the day pass without celebrating the answer to prayers we had been so desperately praying for her! At the end of the night we all prayed over Joshua and asked God for peace, comfort, and direction. We prayed that Joshua would know his value and his worth. We thanked Him for His blessings, the answered prayers, and the future blessings He would bring for Joshua and our family.

On May 1st Joshua heard from multiple companies locally who wanted to talk about opportunities with them. It was such a blessing to know his character and work ethic was recognized by those locally, if not by those he directly worked for just a day earlier. Joshua ended up having several calls with at least 3 separate companies. One in particular was a very similar sounding job to the one he had before. The only catch, it didn't really exist. It was something they had on their radar but were not looking for anyone in that moment. Joshua knew someone who worked there and they were aware of what he did during his time at PSI. Never in one million years would he have reached out to him about a job because up until April 30th Joshua was employed by a neighbor. Poaching other companies talent is frowned upon. Since he had been let go it was no longer an issue. Within 2 weeks he had searched every job board he could think of, applied for 2-3 jobs, he had 3 phone calls with local companies and finally an interview for a position that didn't even exist until he lost his job. 

Just over two weeks after losing his job he was offered a position, doing what he has loved doing for the past 13 years. I'm sure it will be different in a lot of ways, and similar in others. The best part of it all, is that God knows our needs and every single one of them has been met in this job. Joshua has learned over the last year that he doesn't love big company processes. He really enjoys working closely with people, building relationships, and a small company mentality where everyone matters, and everyone works together for a common goal. He thrives in that environment. It's also clear that God cares about the little things. Joshua knew if he ever left SGS-PSI he would most likely have to chose one area to work in. He has so loved the challenge of having different hats and the uniqueness of what that brings. He loves to take things apart, he loves to think through and problem solve, he likes to help others be successful in their work. God knew all that, and He made sure to bring a job to Joshua that he would be excited about. I am so beyond excited for him to start this new adventure.

So for the first two weeks we were waiting we got a front row seat to all of this. We never felt alone or panicked. We felt peace and so loved by friends, neighbors and family. We knew God had a bigger plan, we just weren't sure how long it would take to find out what that meant. 

After looking back on that first day it's clear to me that God was in that event. He orchestrated the lay off so this new chapter could happen. Joshua had mentioned a few times to me that he wasn't sure what it would be like to work at SGS-PSI when his Mom left. It's been such a blessing to work with family. PSI was a very unique place to work and while he loved it for years, the last year was proving things would be very different in the future. I'm thankful God answered that prayer too, and he never has to know what it would be like. Endings can be tough, in some ways this is bittersweet but in others there is so much beauty. 

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done." - Genesis 50:20a

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Lastly, SGS gave us such a gift! We have had lots of time, to travel, do projects, and just spend time together. Joshua was able to attend Tobias' spring preschool performance which he would have been out of town for if he still worked there. He was able to go on 2 field trips with Shiloh without worrying about work, we did projects around the house in a matter of days, celebrated at my brothers wedding, took a family trip to Carowinds, went to a weekday afternoon movie, had a morning breakfast date with my husband. He was also able to freely train for and complete the 50k Ultra he wanted to do. We have lived a lot of life in the past 7 weeks. We are so thankful for a God who provides for us in the most unexpected ways. We are joyful for new beginnings and can't wait to see how this next chapter unfolds.