Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pearl 35: God Didn't Bring Us This Far to Fail


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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