Still Here

I haven't disappeared; just in case anyone was wondering about the lack of blog posts for the past two weeks. I am traveling around searching for a full-time job.

I plan to return to my musings in two weeks. :)

Here are some wise words I read this morning:

"God is always growing something to fill the empty places up. And it’s always possible – joy is always surprisingly possible. You can have joy any moment you turn hidden greed for more into honest gratitude for now." -Ann Voskamp

 Have a joyful day!

Getting My Hopes Up

I have experienced a lot of rejection in the past year with regards to employment. I've applied for countless jobs, only to hear an uninterested 'no' or never get a response from the employer at all. Many of the job rejections didn't result in disappointment of any kind; I wasn't particularly attached. A few of the jobs, however, sounded really interesting and were located in places I would have liked to live. I got my hopes up. Disappointment followed close behind. The jobs and locations seemed perfect. I was qualified for the tasks that would have been expected of me. Yet, something always fell through.

I frequently hear people say, "Don't get your hopes up," or, "I'm trying not to get my hopes up." I've even said it myself, occasionally. I understand the idea behind people not getting their hopes up. It seems to stem from the belief of, 'If I don't get excited, I won't be nearly as disappointed when [insert whatever comes to mind] falls through.' 

I tried living that way. I can't. I want to get excited about possibilities, impossibilities, and everything in between. I have been rejected too many times to count. It is disappointing. Sometimes tears of frustration spill over. But through it all, I do not regret getting my hopes up. I do not regret researching rental prices, fun things to do, and ways to serve in the locations I hoped to encounter. I do not regret all the occasions I have squealed in delight or happily shouted, "This is the best day ever!", because in that moment, it truly was the best day ever. I've learned that people can have lots of best days ever when they are open to the possibility.

Hope is not wishful thinking, nor is it something to squelch, suppress, or smother. The biblical definition of hope is a confident expectation, or the full assurance, that what is unseen and unknown will eventually be made visible; made known according to God's promises. The abiding sense of trust in the fact that it, whatever 'it' may be, will eventually work out. Take a look at how Paul got his hopes up. He made sure someone was preparing a guest room for him! 
"Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you." -Philemon 1:21-22
 
Hope is something that never runs out, even when disappointment decides to join the party. We read the verses about God delighting in His children and being the giver of every good and perfect gift, but it's almost as if we are afraid to believe it; as if God will suddenly come and rip it away, laughing, mocking even. That is such a terribly sad way to live; it sucks all the color out of life. Nor is it part of God's nature. At. All.

I only have 25 years of perspective. I will be learning until the day I fold my earthly tent and head for God's dwelling place.  I don't yet have age on my side when it comes to experience and wisdom. 

This I do know: There will be splendid, laugh out loud, happy overflow kind of days. There will be disappointing, deep darkness kind of days. I won't always understand the reason. I must choose my response. 

So, here's to a lifetime of getting my hopes up!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? If you then, who are sinful, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" -Matthew 7:7-11

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." -James 1:5-8

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket. Save it for a rainy day.

Regarding all things superficial (music, movies, fashion), I was born in the wrong era. Seriously, Perry Como was the greatest, in my humble opinion. According to those who knew him, "...his life was summed up in these few words: 50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all. Occasionally someone like Perry comes along and won't 'go with the flow' and still prevails in spite of all the bankrupt others who surround him and importune him to yield to their values. Only occasionally. One of the many factors in his success was Como's insistence on his principles of good taste; if he considered something to be in bad or poor taste, it was not in the show or broadcast." 

 Mr. Como was married to the same woman for 65 years until her death in 1998. He wasn't just a rarity in the world of entertainment; he was a rarity in the world itself.

I have such fond memories of listening to Perry Como recordings at my grandma's house when I was a teenager. Papa Loves Mambo was one of our very favorites. We were usually off by a few beats, but we sang out!

The best motto for a long march is, "Don't grumble. Plug on!" -Frederick Treves

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not;

nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not;

the world is filled with educated derelicts.

-Calvin Coolidge

So, according to all the statistics and studies, I am in the worst possible job-seeking demographic: 25 years old with a college degree. Furthermore, of the hundreds of thousands of jobs recently added, what the government failed to tell the masses is the vast majority of those positions were part-time. They can say what they want in Washington; here on Main Street, USA, we see it for what it is. Towns are slowly dying. The few positions that are available are part-time in dead-end careers with no health insurance. Businesses have told me they are not hiring anyone new, and have even cut back full-time employees to part-time hours, because they know Obamacare is coming. They will have a hard time affording the employees they do have, let alone anyone new.

 Let me tell you, folks, it is rough. And it looks like it will only get worse.
I know a lot of people disagree with me on this subject. The following is merely my opinion based on my observations and personal experience.

Here's my two cents:

College is no longer a sound financial decision for most people. Unless you can attend on a full-ride scholarship or are majoring in something that has a high probability of job marketability and a livable wage, don't do it. 

Instead, learn a trade. Go to a vocational-technical school. Get creative (freelance, work multiple part-time jobs, market a skill or product on your own). Be an apprentice (plumbing, electricity, carpentry, masonry, shipbuilding, etc...). I know, I know. Plumbing?

Consider this:

A trade that provides a steady job with a livable wage or a college education that leaves you tens of thousands of dollars in debt and does not provide marketable skills for this economy or even the faintest guarantee of a job upon graduation. Besides, the job you do manage to get with a college degree will, on average, pay 30% less than in 2000.

Welcome to the 21st century recession reality. 

I took the college route. The economy tanked at the end of my sophomore year. Thankfully, debt-wise, I'm in good shape. Employment-wise, not so much.

With that being said, what is a person to do?

Plain and simple. Keep on keeping on.

I mean, really, what other option do I have?

I have been filling out applications, sending resumes, and going to job interviews for almost a year. I will continue to do so. I've been rejected more times than I can count. I've been offered jobs only to be told they pay $8 an hour and offer no benefits. I've been told I am overqualified.

It gets old after a while. Discouragement is a daily battle. But, I'm not the only one. There are millions of people around this country who are struggling to get by. 

I'm an opti-realist. Is that even a word? I don't know. Anyway, in my mind, it describes the philosophy of confronting facts yet maintaining a cheerful outlook that seeks to recognize the joy in life. 

 "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger - something better, pushing right back." 
-Albert Camus

Facts are not always pleasant, but they need to be faced. The fact is, the economy is terrible right now, and will likely continue to be that way. 

Take a look at history. The Great Depression lasted many years and it took a world war to bring us fully out of it. People lost their homes and lived on the streets and in their cars. People starved to death. People who had once been employed were left standing in bread lines or selling apples for a penny a piece. It was tough, and it lasted a long time. What we are experiencing economically is nothing new. Just ask your grandparents or great-grandparents.

Satan wants to discourage me and cause despair because he knows when hope is lost, all is lost.

He is in a battle against God. Newsflash: God has already won the war, and He is fighting for me.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." -James 4:7

Giving up is not an option. 

I will press on. 

I won't back down.

I will fall seven times, and stand up eight. I might be knocked out flat on the ground for a while, but I will rise again.

-Proverbs 24:16

This shall be my parting word: Know what you want to do--then do it.

Make straight for your goal and go undefeated in spirit to the end.

-Ernestine Schumann-Heink