I once knew a young boy who had faith.
When he was seven years old, his family moved to New Jersey, to a new town, to a new neighborhood. They knew nobody. But he knew God would find him new friends. How did he know? He had faith.
He knew during that hot, humid summer, when he and his family were living in one room above a garage, sleeping on mats and cooking on a camp stove; Dad was out of work and Mom was real sick, that they would always eat, he could sleep and that his family would always be together. How did he know? He had faith.
This boy knew that when Dad finally got a job, soon Mom would get better too. He had faith.
He knew that when they moved into that tiny, ramshackle, drafty, one bedroom house that leaked when it rained, that it was o.k. They would soon be better off. They would soon have enough room so as to not have to sleep in the living room. Why? He had faith.
And it was great when Dad found an old beat up silver trumpet for only $15 so his older brother could honk and squawk while practicing. He knew his brother would get better. He knew because he had faith - simple faith.
They started school that fall and he had a nice teacher with a funny name; and he was the best reader in class so it didn't matter that he lived in a ramshackle, leaky old house and wore mission-barrel clothes. Besides, his family had lots of fun together and you guessed it - he had faith.
And wouldn't you know it! Just as it was beginning to get colder in the fall, he and his family got to move into a much bigger house, with TWO bedrooms! And it even had a real bathroom with a real bathtub. And Mom was feeling lots better. But he wasn't surprised - 'cause he had faith.
Dad had been able to buy a real neat old car and lots of Christmas presents, three for each of them, even his first Bible with pictures in it. And he was so happy 'cause he had faith.
And when he used the saw from his new Christmas toolkit to cut a branch off the apple tree in the back yard, he knew Dad would get mad, but not for long - 'cause he had faith.
This little boy had "the inborn capacity to see God behind everything." (Oswald Chambers)
Then, this boy grew up. He began to do things himself. He started working real hard, earning everything. He felt it was his responsibility to see that he had nice things and a good place to live. After all, he had worked hard for all these things hadn't he?
He was still the best reader in his class but it was because he had worked at it. He became an athlete, worked out, ran, honed his skills, even lifted weights. He worked hard and "earned" what he had gained.
This boy worked hard at school, worked hard at his part-time jobs. After all, it was all dependent on him to get through school, to get ahead. He worked to develop his talents and even used them for God, for, of course his own selfish purposes. But hadn't he earned them? And weren't they dependent on his hard work?
He went on to college, working his way through, got a job, worked hard, got married. He began to accumulate things, bought a house, achieved success.
He was doing great when suddenly, he stopped. Or maybe he was stopped. He looked at his empty, religious, self-sufficient self and realized something. He had lost his faith.
No, not his saving faith of salvation. But the "look of faith;" looking to God, trusting God, depending on God. It was realizing that in and of himself, he could really do nothing.
The primary purpose of our journey through the joblessphere, is to help us once again "find" our faith. Remember, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It is the "inborn capacity to see God behind everything, the wonder that keeps you an eternal child."
So, what ever happened to the little boy in our story? The one who grew up. The one that began to live as a practical atheist? The one who lost his faith?
Well, he found it again. And I'm still struggling with it. It's hard to realize that faith comes from God and there's nothing I can do to obtain it. I still try hard to do things on my own and to explain everything as if it were something I did or didn't do and that's why.
But I'm learning, especially in my journey through the joblessphere, that God is behind and in everything. In one sense, I am trying to return to my childhood and once again experience that simple, childlike faith.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Future Cast
Had my first closed door yesterday. It looked really good too, especially since it was in Arizona. Arizona looks real good when its rainy and 41 degrees in Seattle!
But what I have discovered, closed doors are almost more important than open doors in the Joblessphere. That's because you can know where you are NOT supposed to go. But, it's disheartening too. As long as there are some attractive open doors, you can always imagine, "what if?" In fact the joke in our family is that we have so much imagination and vision that we have already created a whole new life, complete with home, school, visiting friends, vacation spots... everything, that you would think we were on Second Life, on the internet.
But imagination is good. Vision is good. It lives out Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
As I wrote, life, it only makes sense when you look at it backwards. But we have to live it forward. Future. That is one second from now, one minute from now, one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year, one lifetime... all future, all unknown.
The concept we cannot understand is that God is timeless, eternal, has no beginning or end. His existence transcends time itself so he stands and sees all things as "now," so to speak. So He sees everything in one glance. But He's not telling. Why? Because we are to walk by faith not by sight.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." If it can be seen, it requires no faith. If it can be touched, it requires no faith. If it is within reach, it requires no faith. If it is in my possession, I need no faith. If it is in the present, I need no faith.
But if it cannot be seen, cannot be touched, has not yet been realized, is "not yet," but in the future, then it requires faith.
Faith. It is for the next blog.
But what I have discovered, closed doors are almost more important than open doors in the Joblessphere. That's because you can know where you are NOT supposed to go. But, it's disheartening too. As long as there are some attractive open doors, you can always imagine, "what if?" In fact the joke in our family is that we have so much imagination and vision that we have already created a whole new life, complete with home, school, visiting friends, vacation spots... everything, that you would think we were on Second Life, on the internet.
But imagination is good. Vision is good. It lives out Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
As I wrote, life, it only makes sense when you look at it backwards. But we have to live it forward. Future. That is one second from now, one minute from now, one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year, one lifetime... all future, all unknown.
The concept we cannot understand is that God is timeless, eternal, has no beginning or end. His existence transcends time itself so he stands and sees all things as "now," so to speak. So He sees everything in one glance. But He's not telling. Why? Because we are to walk by faith not by sight.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." If it can be seen, it requires no faith. If it can be touched, it requires no faith. If it is within reach, it requires no faith. If it is in my possession, I need no faith. If it is in the present, I need no faith.
But if it cannot be seen, cannot be touched, has not yet been realized, is "not yet," but in the future, then it requires faith.
Faith. It is for the next blog.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Book of Job
There are several keys to maintaining balance and sanity when "in transition." That is assuming that you are already sane moving into this season of life. One key is a consistent schedule which includes the spiritual disciplines of prayer and the Word.
When I first started in ministry, I was turned on to a great Bible reading plan. Very simply, it is reading one chapter out of each major section of the Bible every day - History (Genesis - Esther), Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon), Prophets (Isaiah - Malachi), Gospels ( Matthew - Acts) and Epistles (Romans - Revelation). This plan gives you a balanced diet. Five chapters a day takes about 20 - 30 minutes a day, an hour if you stop to think about it. Thinking about it is a good idea, especially if you are in the joblessphere.
When I found out I was laid off, I had just finished Song of Solomon, which is a good book to read on vacation, but only if you are with your wife! Next up? Job. Now to the uninitiated the book of Job is not pronounced "jaahb" as in employment, but "joe-b" with a long o. It was a character's name, not a synonym for work in which all men find their identity.
I'll be honest. I never look forward to reading Job. I thought about skipping it this time and going straight to Psalms, but the irony of the title, Job, and my job situation were too interesting. I'm always afraid that if I read about it, it will happen. So when Job loses everything, suffers terribly, then, after Satan learns his lesson, he is finally delivered, has everything restored and everyone lives happily ever after.
Of course Job didn't know the back story. And neither do we - for our lives. And my imagination runs amok when out of work. All kinds of scenarios run through my mind when I read "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." And I pray, "Please God, don't let that happen to me! We need clothes. Especially in Seattle."
CS Lewis wrote, "God speaks to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain." God, please don't have to raise your voice. After reading about Job's disasters and 30 chapters of his friends' crazy advice, God finally speaks. I am always relieved when I finally reach Chapter 38, mainly because I am tired of Eliphaz, Zophar, Elihu and Bildad the Shuhite (who is evidently the shortest man in the Bible).
Amazingly, God answers no questions. He just asks questions like, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!" And "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?"
Then Job says, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted...My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."
Ok God. I get it. You are in charge. You are sovereign. You know the beginning from the end. You know my back story, present story and future story. I guess maybe I can trust you to find me the next job. You did find me my last one. Just one thing - can you work on the salary?
When I first started in ministry, I was turned on to a great Bible reading plan. Very simply, it is reading one chapter out of each major section of the Bible every day - History (Genesis - Esther), Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon), Prophets (Isaiah - Malachi), Gospels ( Matthew - Acts) and Epistles (Romans - Revelation). This plan gives you a balanced diet. Five chapters a day takes about 20 - 30 minutes a day, an hour if you stop to think about it. Thinking about it is a good idea, especially if you are in the joblessphere.
When I found out I was laid off, I had just finished Song of Solomon, which is a good book to read on vacation, but only if you are with your wife! Next up? Job. Now to the uninitiated the book of Job is not pronounced "jaahb" as in employment, but "joe-b" with a long o. It was a character's name, not a synonym for work in which all men find their identity.
I'll be honest. I never look forward to reading Job. I thought about skipping it this time and going straight to Psalms, but the irony of the title, Job, and my job situation were too interesting. I'm always afraid that if I read about it, it will happen. So when Job loses everything, suffers terribly, then, after Satan learns his lesson, he is finally delivered, has everything restored and everyone lives happily ever after.
Of course Job didn't know the back story. And neither do we - for our lives. And my imagination runs amok when out of work. All kinds of scenarios run through my mind when I read "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." And I pray, "Please God, don't let that happen to me! We need clothes. Especially in Seattle."
CS Lewis wrote, "God speaks to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain." God, please don't have to raise your voice. After reading about Job's disasters and 30 chapters of his friends' crazy advice, God finally speaks. I am always relieved when I finally reach Chapter 38, mainly because I am tired of Eliphaz, Zophar, Elihu and Bildad the Shuhite (who is evidently the shortest man in the Bible).
Amazingly, God answers no questions. He just asks questions like, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!" And "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?"
Then Job says, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted...My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."
Ok God. I get it. You are in charge. You are sovereign. You know the beginning from the end. You know my back story, present story and future story. I guess maybe I can trust you to find me the next job. You did find me my last one. Just one thing - can you work on the salary?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Applying for Taxi Driver
When I was processing the tension between taking aggressive action and waiting on God in the job search, journeying through the joblessphere, I remembered a very significant series of events that completely changed the entire course of my life.
It was the summer of 1980. I had just finished my first year of Seminary and was out in Everett WA, staying with my parents and looking for a summer job. My parents had recently moved to Washington and I knew absolutely no one. Not knowing where else to start, I picked up a local newspaper to look at the "Want Ads" for a job. The only thing promising, aside from the "earn $5000 per month from home sitting on the deck" ads were a couple ads for taxi driver. I made the calls.
The person on the other end of the line asked me, "How well do you know Everett?" I decided honesty was the best policy. After all I was a Seminarian.
I answered, "Not very well."
"How about Seattle?" the interrogator asked. I answered, "Not as well as Everett."
Expecting a laugh and rejection I was surprised to hear him say, "Come down, fill out an application and we'll see what we can do." Again, this was in 1980, WAY before GPS. So I looked up the taxi company address and drove to their office to apply.
After filling out the application, I turned the wrong way out of the driveway. When I realized my mistake, I discovered I was by the local high school. That sparked a thought that had to be from someone other than me. What I really wanted for a summer job was what I had spent summers doing before - teaching swimming and lifeguarding. I turned into the high school parking lot looking for the gym or swimming pool area.
The school was obviously closed for the summer and no one seemed to be there, except that I found one door open, the door near the gym. I went in and found a man inside an office behind a glass window. He looked surprised to see me and asked, "Can I help you?"
I told him I was a student looking for a summer job and wondered if he knew of any jobs as a lifeguard or swimming instructor. There was no pool in sight so I felt really stupid. Maybe this was the custodian.
He told me he was the retired swimming coach for the school, but knew of no jobs. I thanked him and turned to leave when he said, "Hey. Why don't I take your name and number just in case I hear of something." So I gave him my name and number which he jotted on a scrap of paper and put it on his desk. I felt kind of foolish and thought, "Well that was an interesting wild-goose chase." Little did I know what was to follow. I continued to look, pray and pursue jobs.
In the meantime, there was a Washington State lifeguard team at the State Park nearby that was unable to find the fourth member of their team. State Lifeguard positions were in very high demand since they paid the best, but despite their best efforts, they could not find anyone even interested. In frustration, Janet, the Head Lifeguard finally called her old swimming coach, pleading with him to help her find a lifeguard.
Her old swimming coach? Yes. It was the man who had dropped into the PE office at the local high school - for 5 minutes - intersected with this Seminary student from Minnesota who was there applying for Taxi Driver, got turned around and just "happened" to find this man and he just "happened" to write his name down - my name.
This coach told Janet he needed to go back to the high school to see if he could find that scrap of paper. By the time I received the phone call, I had applied, and accepted another job, an absolutely miserable position. Hey, I had to DO something, right? This position was way outside Everett and included lodging. I was on a day off, at my parent's home in Everett when the job enquiry came that led to the job as a Washington State lifeguard.
Now why was this so life-changing? Because of this job, I met Judi, my wife. No I didn't meet her at the beach, I met her in church. Isn't that where every Seminarian should meet his wife? That's another story and is a lot longer than this one - even my version!
So what lesson did I learn that applies to any and every person who is out of work and seeking God for the next step? I got this job as I was applying for taxi driver. There is nothing wrong with being a taxi driver. I was moving, perhaps in the wrong direction, but moving forward none-the-less.
So as I go forward in my joblessphere, I am "Applying for Taxi Driver," so to speak, knowing that as I initiate, move forward and look at all options, God will intersect me at the right creative moment and lead me into the next season.
It was the summer of 1980. I had just finished my first year of Seminary and was out in Everett WA, staying with my parents and looking for a summer job. My parents had recently moved to Washington and I knew absolutely no one. Not knowing where else to start, I picked up a local newspaper to look at the "Want Ads" for a job. The only thing promising, aside from the "earn $5000 per month from home sitting on the deck" ads were a couple ads for taxi driver. I made the calls.
The person on the other end of the line asked me, "How well do you know Everett?" I decided honesty was the best policy. After all I was a Seminarian.
I answered, "Not very well."
"How about Seattle?" the interrogator asked. I answered, "Not as well as Everett."
Expecting a laugh and rejection I was surprised to hear him say, "Come down, fill out an application and we'll see what we can do." Again, this was in 1980, WAY before GPS. So I looked up the taxi company address and drove to their office to apply.
After filling out the application, I turned the wrong way out of the driveway. When I realized my mistake, I discovered I was by the local high school. That sparked a thought that had to be from someone other than me. What I really wanted for a summer job was what I had spent summers doing before - teaching swimming and lifeguarding. I turned into the high school parking lot looking for the gym or swimming pool area.
The school was obviously closed for the summer and no one seemed to be there, except that I found one door open, the door near the gym. I went in and found a man inside an office behind a glass window. He looked surprised to see me and asked, "Can I help you?"
I told him I was a student looking for a summer job and wondered if he knew of any jobs as a lifeguard or swimming instructor. There was no pool in sight so I felt really stupid. Maybe this was the custodian.
He told me he was the retired swimming coach for the school, but knew of no jobs. I thanked him and turned to leave when he said, "Hey. Why don't I take your name and number just in case I hear of something." So I gave him my name and number which he jotted on a scrap of paper and put it on his desk. I felt kind of foolish and thought, "Well that was an interesting wild-goose chase." Little did I know what was to follow. I continued to look, pray and pursue jobs.
In the meantime, there was a Washington State lifeguard team at the State Park nearby that was unable to find the fourth member of their team. State Lifeguard positions were in very high demand since they paid the best, but despite their best efforts, they could not find anyone even interested. In frustration, Janet, the Head Lifeguard finally called her old swimming coach, pleading with him to help her find a lifeguard.
Her old swimming coach? Yes. It was the man who had dropped into the PE office at the local high school - for 5 minutes - intersected with this Seminary student from Minnesota who was there applying for Taxi Driver, got turned around and just "happened" to find this man and he just "happened" to write his name down - my name.
This coach told Janet he needed to go back to the high school to see if he could find that scrap of paper. By the time I received the phone call, I had applied, and accepted another job, an absolutely miserable position. Hey, I had to DO something, right? This position was way outside Everett and included lodging. I was on a day off, at my parent's home in Everett when the job enquiry came that led to the job as a Washington State lifeguard.
Now why was this so life-changing? Because of this job, I met Judi, my wife. No I didn't meet her at the beach, I met her in church. Isn't that where every Seminarian should meet his wife? That's another story and is a lot longer than this one - even my version!
So what lesson did I learn that applies to any and every person who is out of work and seeking God for the next step? I got this job as I was applying for taxi driver. There is nothing wrong with being a taxi driver. I was moving, perhaps in the wrong direction, but moving forward none-the-less.
So as I go forward in my joblessphere, I am "Applying for Taxi Driver," so to speak, knowing that as I initiate, move forward and look at all options, God will intersect me at the right creative moment and lead me into the next season.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Found It!
I just found my blog! I know that sounds stupid to a lot of people, but after posting my first blog with enthusiasm, planning to blog about my transition experience (unemployment), I couldn't find it. I went online the next day and tried everything until I concluded it was lost forever in cyberspace. I thought, "That's ok. I will be working in a week anyway after I get those 18 incredible offers."
I use Facebook, Twitter (kind of) and have been on the internet since 1995. I have a new Macbook, IPhone, use the maps, GPS, even the camera, so this was really embarrassing. But who would ever know? If I was the author and couldn't find it, surely no one else will find my single blog either. I really didn't want my kids to find out. They've taught me most everything I know about computers.
I imagined about what might happen 1500 years from now when some team of "archaeologists" discovered my single blog, one day from 2010, and created a theory of some supposed natural disaster, volcano, war, or something, that cut my life short, and stopped the miserable existence of this 21st century jobless in Seattle person. Or they would figure I just disappeared somewhere into the joblessphere, just like my blog disappeared into the blogosphere.
But I found my blog! How you ask? Well, one afternoon as I browsed the internet, after sending my resume, presentation materials, vimeo site, or "vita" as the high class people call it, to about a dozen more people, I had a brilliant thought. I wonder if these people that have all this info, might google me. And if they google "Mark Nordtvedt," what would they find? The last time I googled my name a few years ago there were pitifuly few references to Mark Nordtvedt. There were more posts about my kids! And, some brilliant physicist named Ken Nordtvedt, PhD, who has his own published physics theory. He is supposedly related in some distant way. Couldn't tell by my science acumen though! I guess if I was smart enough to have my own physics theory I probably would't be out of work right now.
So, I googled my name, just to see what prospective employers, recruiters or headhunters would see. I got to page four after discovering much more than I thought I would find, and there it was! My blog!
Since my wife has been encouraging me (nice for nagging) to blog about this experience to help everybody else through this unemployment season, I thought maybe I should. I don't know why I'm feeling so selfless and altruistic. No one seems to be helping me! But then, I'm a Christian, and a pastor. Is a pastor a pastor when they're unemployed? I don't know. I'll have to ask Ken the physicist that question? Maybe he can help me develop my own theory.
I use Facebook, Twitter (kind of) and have been on the internet since 1995. I have a new Macbook, IPhone, use the maps, GPS, even the camera, so this was really embarrassing. But who would ever know? If I was the author and couldn't find it, surely no one else will find my single blog either. I really didn't want my kids to find out. They've taught me most everything I know about computers.
I imagined about what might happen 1500 years from now when some team of "archaeologists" discovered my single blog, one day from 2010, and created a theory of some supposed natural disaster, volcano, war, or something, that cut my life short, and stopped the miserable existence of this 21st century jobless in Seattle person. Or they would figure I just disappeared somewhere into the joblessphere, just like my blog disappeared into the blogosphere.
But I found my blog! How you ask? Well, one afternoon as I browsed the internet, after sending my resume, presentation materials, vimeo site, or "vita" as the high class people call it, to about a dozen more people, I had a brilliant thought. I wonder if these people that have all this info, might google me. And if they google "Mark Nordtvedt," what would they find? The last time I googled my name a few years ago there were pitifuly few references to Mark Nordtvedt. There were more posts about my kids! And, some brilliant physicist named Ken Nordtvedt, PhD, who has his own published physics theory. He is supposedly related in some distant way. Couldn't tell by my science acumen though! I guess if I was smart enough to have my own physics theory I probably would't be out of work right now.
So, I googled my name, just to see what prospective employers, recruiters or headhunters would see. I got to page four after discovering much more than I thought I would find, and there it was! My blog!
Since my wife has been encouraging me (nice for nagging) to blog about this experience to help everybody else through this unemployment season, I thought maybe I should. I don't know why I'm feeling so selfless and altruistic. No one seems to be helping me! But then, I'm a Christian, and a pastor. Is a pastor a pastor when they're unemployed? I don't know. I'll have to ask Ken the physicist that question? Maybe he can help me develop my own theory.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)