Good morning and welcome to Wednesday, August 26, 2009. The owner of our small company had to let four of our guys go yesterday because of the continuing slowness in our segment of the economy. Our owner had postponed this for months. He is a man of God and he has done all that he can to help the team here in view of this very tight market. In that process the people here have grown in their respect for him and also have learned by his Christ honoring example. I had been out making a delivery for the company and when I returned I found a note from one of the fellows who had been laid off. He is a man that has known his fair share of troubles in his life and he would be the very first to own up to his responsibility in most of what has happened to him. His recent battle with Hepatitis C along with other issues had caused him to seek God and he and I have talked many different times about his situation and I have tried to encourage him in the Lord. His note was short but very sweet and I treasure knowing that he, with all of his many troubles, can now wish God's speed as he moves on to his next job.We never know what a day will bring. Many other companies in our same industry have been doing ma
jor layoffs since late last year. We have been blessed with enough work to keep everything going but now even those jobs have begun to dry up. Another one of the fellows let go, a Hispanic gentleman, has asked me about our prospects many times over the past several weeks. The last conversation we had was one where we shared a belief that God would take care of us, if not here, somewhere, because He will! He said, "Amen", and I said "Amen" and that's how we live our time here, in God's provision and providence. I feel a special connection to the four men who will now be seeking a way to continue to support their families. They would all be considered to be worker bees but each one has their story and their family and their interesting way of looking at life. We have many promises that our fourth quarter is going to be busy. Perhaps some of these guys will be back. There are no guarantees in this upside down world except for the faithfulness of our God.
jor layoffs since late last year. We have been blessed with enough work to keep everything going but now even those jobs have begun to dry up. Another one of the fellows let go, a Hispanic gentleman, has asked me about our prospects many times over the past several weeks. The last conversation we had was one where we shared a belief that God would take care of us, if not here, somewhere, because He will! He said, "Amen", and I said "Amen" and that's how we live our time here, in God's provision and providence. I feel a special connection to the four men who will now be seeking a way to continue to support their families. They would all be considered to be worker bees but each one has their story and their family and their interesting way of looking at life. We have many promises that our fourth quarter is going to be busy. Perhaps some of these guys will be back. There are no guarantees in this upside down world except for the faithfulness of our God.I don't know exactly how much blame former President George W. Bush deserves for the economic disaster that continues to poison the business climate. In many ways he may have been asleep at the wheel before all this came to fruition. However, the things that have been done since he left office do not seem to be making things better and there are many who believe the worsening conditions have been caused by the actions of this new administration. When I look around, when I read about all that is happening, and when I try to make sense out of where we are, there seems to be one thing that jumps out at me. The people I deal with and the people they say they deal with are frozen because of their uncertainty about where all this
is going and the lack of confidence the nation has in those in power who are charged with trying to make things better. Businesses do not like uncertainty and it is hard for them to plan for the future when they lack confidence. Eventually, even the biggest and best will see this mentality erode their production and this is where I believe our economic engine finds itself today, stuck in neutral. Meanwhile, we don't know about tomorrow but how blessed we are to know the One who does! I pray for these men and their families. I pray for the millions of others who are daily dealing with this downturn with very little prospects for relief, anytime soon. And that is all we can do, folks, is to cry out to God and ask Him to intervene because He is our only hope! Amen. ......More later.
is going and the lack of confidence the nation has in those in power who are charged with trying to make things better. Businesses do not like uncertainty and it is hard for them to plan for the future when they lack confidence. Eventually, even the biggest and best will see this mentality erode their production and this is where I believe our economic engine finds itself today, stuck in neutral. Meanwhile, we don't know about tomorrow but how blessed we are to know the One who does! I pray for these men and their families. I pray for the millions of others who are daily dealing with this downturn with very little prospects for relief, anytime soon. And that is all we can do, folks, is to cry out to God and ask Him to intervene because He is our only hope! Amen. ......More later.
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