Update #2...Our Big Life Decision

The last several months have been long.  Many long months without a job.  David warned me well in advance about the statistics of people at his level getting a job.  He let me know that it can take 6-12 months.  I hated that statistic.  It scared me.  And, honestly, I didn't think that would be us.  Surely, it wouldn't take that long.  Ha!  Little did I know.  In the end, it took 8 months.

I won't lie, there were some tough moments and rough days, but there were also good moments and great days.  The days when we saw the hand of the Lord in our lives.  The days we experienced tender mercies along the way.

The first tender mercy came in the form of time with the kids.  Even an unemployed David worked a lot, but after school or in the evening, the boys got their dad.  It was so fun to watch them play soccer or basketball together.  During the first few months of unemployment, the boys didn't want their dad to get a job.  They were enjoying their time with him and didn't want to give him up.  When it got cold and playing outside was no longer an option, the boys began to realize we could not have a house of our own until there was a job.  It was then that they started to change their tune.  They suddenly became very interested in the job hunt.  Whenever David would interview, he was always questioned afterwards, by his children.  They always wanted to know how it went and if he did well.  Poor David...not that he didn't already feel the pressure of the world on his shoulders!

There was one particular day when we heard back from 3 companies that David was not chosen for any of them.  And there were no prospects waiting in the wings.  That was a hard day.  I went to bed in a fog and woke up in a fog.  I was so down.  I went about my day in a haze.  I went grocery shopping and then headed to the organic store for some deli meat.  While standing in line, I heard the lady in front of me tell the cashier that she would be buying my food as well.  I wasn't sure I heard right, but I looked up at her and realized she was serious.  I told her she didn't need to do that.  She replied with, "I know, but I want to."  Again, I told her it was not necessary, but she insisted.  In fact, she said, "I just wish you had filled up your cart!"  What!?!  I thanked her profusely and gave her a hug.  Then we parted ways.  When I was finally seated in my car, the tears just started to roll down my cheeks.  I didn't need this woman to buy my $6 deli meat.  Financially, we were doing just fine.  We were not lacking in anything.  What this sweet act of service did for me was let me know that my Father in Heaven was aware of me.  That He knows what I am going through.  That He cares.  That He loves me.  That He has not lost sight of me and my family and our troubles.  And he chose this woman, an angel on earth, to tell me that.  What a needed tender mercy that was for me.  The only thing I regret is that I did not chase this woman down in the parking lot to tell her what she had done for me.  I wish I had told her about the difficult day I was having and how I had been wondering if God was listening. I wish that I could have told her how she was an answer to my prayer.

Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for us to hear from multiple companies on the same day that David was not the one selected for the jobs he had been interviewing for.  Most of those times, there was nothing waiting in the wings.  We would go to bed with a heavy heart, but invariably David would get a call the following morning about a new opportunity.  These too were tender mercies.  Right after having our hopes dashed, we would be blessed with hope again.  It helped to keep our faith alive.

There was another point when I was a bit down and wondering about how long this was taking, I came across a scripture in my daily reading.  The scripture is 2 Nephi:22:2.  It reads:

    "Behold, God is my salvation;
      I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord
     Jehovah is my strength and my song;
     he also has become my salvation."

Wow.  On that day, this too was just what I needed.  I immediately memorized this scripture.  I shared it with David and he printed it off and posted it in many places where we would see it daily.  This scripture became our mantra.  Over a period of 5 months, whenever I got down, I would repeat this scripture over and over.  I had frequent pep talks with myself by saying, "I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song."  I knew that we were where we were supposed to be, no matter how long this process was taking.  This scripture helped me to remember that and to trust in God, who we knew was guiding us.

During this time we went to the temple frequently.  I have always loved the temple, but over the last couple of years my appreciation for the temple has grown 100 fold.  It is a sacred place where one can truly commune with God.  I love it there.  We have received many answers within the walls of the temple.  Some very specific.  One answer, although a generic one, we received with every visit over the last several months is that God has a plan for our family.  Some days that was all we had to go on, but it was enough.  We may not have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we knew it was coming.

Provo City Center Temple

And it did come!  In January, David began interviewing with 4 different companies, one of which became "The One."  The interview process at David's level is grueling.  It is not just one and done.  Interviewing is a long process that takes weeks.  David would interview, and if they liked him he would be back for another interview and then another and possibly more after that.  It felt like we were courting these companies.  After weeks of this with each company, David would often be one of two people left.  And for months he was not the one chosen.  Until Ultradent came along with an offer at the end of February!  By the time David was offered the job of Senior HR Director at Ultradent, it had taken nearly two months and he had interviewed with a total of 22 people at the company.  Twenty-two.  It blows me away.  After he started this job, everyone apologized to him about the rigorous interviewing process, but they wanted to get the right fit for the job.  It's funny how we can look back and be grateful that all those other jobs didn't work out.  God always knows best.  This job is a great fit for David, the company and our family.  We are thrilled about this job and know it was worth the long wait.

I can't finish this post without a shout-out to this man.  He is amazing.  I have always known it, but the 8 months of unemployment have shown me even more who he is and why I love him.

David worked incredibly hard over those 8 months.  It actually felt like he had a full-time job.  If he wasn't looking for a job or interviewing for a job, he was creating a job.  He started an HR consulting business to earn money.  He became an adjunct faculty member at BYU for a couple of courses.  And he bought the rights to something called Disrupt HR Salt Lake City.  There is no money involved with Disrupt HR, but progressive HR is a passion of David's, so he headed it up, added board members and ran his first Disrupt HR SLC Conference.  This man was not idle for 8 months.  He worked non-stop.  I am so impressed with how he handled these very humbling months.  He is my a rock star.

Oh, and there is one more tender mercy I wanted to share.  I know I am biased, but this husband of mine has great experience and a lot to offer any company.  It is crazy to me that it really took 8 months for someone to see this.  It is crazy to me that it took 8 months to get one offer.  David often made it right up until the end before another candidate was chosen over him.  But, even with making it so far, it was still hard on him to be rejected so many times.  It was hard on me to watch.  With that said, I also felt like it was another of God's tender mercies.  I am so grateful that we didn't have to make the decision to take an offer...or not.  Over and over again.  Being unemployed is hard.  Turning down a job that has landed in your lap, in hopes of finding a better one or even "the one" is harder.  I am so grateful we were not continually faced with whether or not we should take this job or that one.  The decision was already made for us.  And, for me, that was a tender mercy.  It made it easier for me to say, "Ok, that one wasn't it.  What's next?"  And what came next was a job that feels so right.  We couldn't be happier with the end result.