Dearest Ruby B.,
Good morning, sweetheart. Granny and I are still down in Cabo San Lucas
and will be for another three weeks. We
were expecting your Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Kenneth to join us here yesterday but
their flight got cancelled and they had to delay their arrival until
today. They were disappointed but, then,
life is full of disappointments. It is
how we deal with them which is important.
In 1985 I left Owens-Corning in Toledo, Ohio after
16 years with that company and took a position as General Sales Manager with
GAF Corporation, working for our dear, and now departed, friend, Dick Liden. It
was a great job, but the best part was Granny, your mom, Aunt Brandi and I got
to move back to Texas, where we always wanted to live. We built a nice custom home with a pool (your
mom blackmailed me into putting in a water slide but that is another story) in
Duncanville, Texas, just south of Dallas.
It was the nicest home we had ever owned and even though it was a bit of
a financial stretch, we were very confident and comfortable.
We enrolled your mom and aunt in school and they
started to make new friends almost from the start. The warmer weather and southern hospitality
fit us perfectly. After a short time we were settled in and livin’ large in
Texas. Then, 13 months later, two days
before Thanksgiving, I was fired.
The circumstances surrounding this event could fill
volumes. Suffice it to say, the
disappointment of being without a job after having just moved my family half
way across the country, to a new home with a big mortgage, a new neighborhood,
new schools, new friends and, well, a brand new life…well, it was quite devastating
emotionally and, potentially, financially.
As I drove home from my office that day at 3:00 PM
instead of my normal quitting time of around 6:00 PM, I struggled with what I
was going to tell my family. I had never
been terminated before from an adult job and the emotional impact is
great. I worried about my family’s reaction;
how we would pay the bills, keep the mortgage, would we have to move back
north, how we would survive this. Then I
prayed and asked for guidance which, by the way, always works, and the answer
which came back into my head kind of brings me to my next “Pearl”:
Thirty-Fifth Pearl: "God
Didn’t Bring Us This Far To Fail"
When that fact came to mind, a wave of calm came
over my body. It was a peace which I
have known before but only after I was willing to turn everything over to God
and allow him to take control. The words
that I would need to speak to Granny, your mom and Aunt Brandi started to come
to me and I knew we would be alright and they would understand.
Long story short, they understood, were supportive
and it pulled our family closer together than ever. I started a marketing consulting company, BJS
III Marketing, which still operates to this day. A year later I founded ADvent Supply, Inc., a
sample manufacturing company, and with the whole family's help and support,
grew that small company to a larger company over the next sixteen years….and
now we are livin’ even larger in Texas.
Your daddy just lost his job. He was not fired. His company went bankrupt and he got caught
in the crossfire. I am sure he is
handling this normally emotionally challenging event very well, but, still, the
trauma of being unemployed is very difficult.
I am sure he and your mom are experiencing the same feelings of concern
that I felt over 25 years ago. They are
worried about how they will find work, support the family, keep the home….all
of the emotions which can weigh you down and depress you. But, I am here to tell you and firmly
believe, relief from that depression is just a prayer away. I am praying it for them right now and I know
if they will ask God for that guidance which only He can provide, they will
come to the same conclusion I did….God didn’t bring them this far to fail. He has a plan. He will provide. And, He will allow the Cho family to
succeed. You can count on it.
I love you, sweet Ruby, with all my heart…..and, I
love your parents, bunches and bunches.
Grandpa Jud
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