Is Loss a Gain?

Ha. Life is funny. Or perhaps it's God who's funny, always wanting to keep me on my proverbial toes. You see, on March 5 I had a very positive evaluation by my department chairman and the head principal and they wrote a written recommendation to the school board for my rehire. All was well, right? I felt very grateful to God for knowing that I was filling my role as a teacher with success.

But then came March 12 and another fiat from the school board to cut more employees. (Our district is about $12M in the red.) Guess what? Against his wishes, my principal called me down to tell me the news that I would have to get let go and would not be rehired for next year. For real? I guess the recession isn't just "in the news" anymore.

At first I was pretty upset. But then I realized--with some help from some God-conscious friends--that this may just be God's way of guiding his plan for me. So what if I don't teach in Plainfield again next year? I get to work and/or live somewhere else, and I need to be open to that. The more I thought about it, I realized it wasn't that big of a deal. Maybe it's time to move back to Richmond; Olivia and I are certainly open to the idea of living in the "Promised Land." Maybe something better is in store. Who knows? (God does--and he's always good.)

Armed with that thought, I've been able to be pretty upbeat and hopeful this week. Sure, it'll get tougher after the wedding (April fourth!) and I really get serious about job applications. But right now I am resting in God's care, knowing that with God and with an awesome wife, I can pretty much go anywhere and do anything.