When One Door Closes . . .

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” -Alexander Graham Bell

   Nothing could have prepared be for the text from my husband early Friday morning . . . "FireD."

 

   Many thoughts ran through my head: he's joking . . . It's Christmastime . . . wait, why?

 

The night before my husband was involved in a . . . mishap. 

 

   The roads to Idaho City were icy and Mike was asked to haul this bulldozer for his company. The trailer got stuck and in an effort to try to clear traffic, the dozer fell to its side. No body was hurt and there was little, if any, damage. We were just thankful that Mike was safe.

 

   The next morning, Mike went into work and was fired. He worked for the company for 5 years without one infraction. No warnings. No accidents. Anyone who drives a truck or operates equipment is in the difficult position of possibly making mistakes. Apparently, we were not allowed one. Many other employees in the past who have had accidents have been allowed to continue but for whatever reason, Mike was not. I panicked at first. We have NO income. It is the first time in a long time that I don't even have any sort of part-time job.

 

   So, my husband gathered his tools and paperwork and left the job we depended on for our sole income. As scary as it was, we both had a sense of peace. The way he was fired and treated was so bizarre, we felt it had to be some sort of hidden blessing. We believe God knew that we have turned down other opportunities to stay with the safety of this company. He knew that he had to take "staying with current company" out of the equation for us to move forward. 

 

   There is a strange sense of freedom that comes from being unemployed. I pray we do not become very familiar with that type of freedom, but it is exciting to watch our future unfold. Obviously there is something else. 

   After I received the text, I cried a little, explained to the children what happened and then went into my "mode." Instant fix-it. I jumped on Craigslist and the IdahoWorks website. I found a crane operator job conveniently just posted in Boise. Apparently, they need a certain type of crane operator, one with a truck driver's license (CDL). Mike!

   He drove from his previous place of employment to the office where this job was offered. Fresh off of the jobsite and in his coveralls, they spoke about the opportunity to run the truck crane full-time. He was asked to return on Monday afternoon. 

   If not for the accident, Mike wouldn't have been fired. If he wasn't fired, I wouldn't have even been looking at opportunities. Even if we had, we wouldn't have left what we considered a "safe" job to enter the unknown. But the reality is that what we perceive is "safe" is often an illusion. It suffocates our freedom as we are willing to give up possibilities for what gets us by. What does that say about our society. What does that show our children. 

   And it really is just an illusion because nothing is a "sure-thing."