While I typically share everything with y’all, sometimes I wait until the time is right for me to share. . . like that time I lost my job during the middle of the pandemic. Yes, like many of y’all, I lost my job (as an in-house attorney) over the summer due to downsizing. Wow, it feels so good to finally say that and talk about it with y’all, because it’s been laying heavy on my chest. So here we go.
At the beginning of June, I was notified that my position of 8 years was being downsized at the end of the month. When I got the email notifying me, I didn’t freak out. I didn’t cry. I wasn’t even upset (true story). I already had Plan B and set it into action.
Immediately after I got that email, I went to work. Seriously. Within minutes, I picked up the phone and started calling all of my contacts to let them know that I was officially looking. I asked each one of them if I could send my resume over for them to pass along. Thankfully, my resume was already up-to-date and ready to roll.
And then came a lot of waiting. While the type of position I was searching for is sometimes posted online, a lot of times those roles are filled through word-of-mouth. For a Type A person who always has a plan and is impatient, it can be difficult to go through a season of waiting. But I knew I had to wait and be patient.
Why? Because there’s quite the backstory to my experience. Three to four days before I got that email, I had prayed to God asking for a new job. Well, He spoke loud and clear. Additionally, God had set things in motion that I knew was him saying to wait. . .that he had something great in store, but it wasn’t ready quite yet. THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT A SETBACK. God had provided so much for my family (looking back, I believe that some things that had happened weeks, if not months, before were in preparation), that I knew God was saying to wait. I knew that He was giving me the breathing room I needed to job search. August 31 was the date that I “needed” to find a job by. . . we would still be fine financially, but in my head, I needed to have the next job lined up by that date.
Y’all, when God moves, HE MOVES. I kid you not–by August 31, I knew I had a job offer coming. And bright and early the very next day, on September 1, my official job offer was waiting in my inbox.
This summer has been hectic. Lots of job searching, networking, filling out applications, and interviewing. But it’s also been the best summer I’ve had in a long time. I’ve been able to slow down and spend time with my family. We had the best summer ever. I was able to BREATHE. And it was amazing. I let go, stopped worrying so much, and LIVED. You can read more about our summer here. I hope this post, though, fills in the blanks that I didn’t write about in that post. There was a lot going on behind the scenes. I didn’t want to share about my job loss then because I knew that my story wasn’t over, and I would have more to share.
I’m forever thankful for the opportunities and experiences I had at my old job. It helped me to grow and develop my career at a young age–many attorney don’t go in-house until much later in their careers.
If you too lost your job, I just want to encourage you. Don’t lose hope and give up faith. Keep pushing through. It can be stressful, but I hope that you can see the opportunity in it. Something even better may be coming your way.
So why did I choose to share today? Because today is my first day at a new job. Wish me luck:)
Photos by Shawna Henery Photography. She is now booking for light + bright mini sessions this October.
