I looked on as my four-year-old daughter played quietly with her legos. She was carefully and methodically constructing her masterpiece. Then suddenly, her two-year-old sister grabbed her prized creation and threw it to the ground. What took time and diligence to build was ruined in an instant.
As I watched this little toddler travesty play out, I couldn’t help but think about the millions of people–young and old–whose work lives have recently experienced a similar sudden crushing defeat in this global pandemic. Careers that have been carefully and diligently nurtured over years, have suddenly been lost in an instant. Poof. Gone.
This may feel devastating to say the least. And being forced to go back to “square one” in the job search is nothing short of…daunting.
If that is you, take heart. You may not know what the future holds, but you can take a next step. What might that step be? Here are a few suggestions to help you make good use of your time now and get you ready to re-enter the job market with a clearer sense of purpose and direction:
- Re-evaluate. This is a good time to stop and reflect. Where have you been? What have you been doing? Why are you doing it? Bring these things before the Lord and see what He impresses on your heart about what might be next for you.
- Re-discover. This is also a good time to grow in your awareness of who you are and how God created you. Here are a few of my favorite online personality assessments: Core Values Index, CliftonStrengths, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
- Re-orient. I once heard a theologian point out a pattern of God’s movement in one’s life as “orientation… disorientation… reorientation.” Disorientation is never something we want to go through, but we can be encouraged that God often uses this uncomfortable time to purify our motives and desires in a way that will re-orient or re-position us in some way. What is a new skill you can learn to help re-position you in the workforce?
You may feel discouraged to be back at square one of the job hunt. But remember God’s words, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19). These may be painful times, but God’s promises never fail.
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