I was told my job was done in May - worked until the end of August. Then.... nothing.
Before my last day I had been looking - but the TV pickings were slim and the station I was at paid the most of the area stations. I did not want to go down in pay from the stratosphere of 18k a year with a family of four now at home.
There were many applications and just as many "sorry, we are not hiring at this time."
The way unemployment checks worked at the time was you needed to apply for at least one job a week and couldn't work part-time anywhere. That last part meant that a guy couldn't find something to help the cash flow while looking for a new full-time gig.
I hung out at the library. A lot. It was where I scanned the papers and the meager online offerings I could find in what amounted to cyberspace in 1992.
I volunteered.
There was a stint coaching YMCA soccer for kindergartners (Matt was in kindergarten then). I had to read up on the game. It was fun and it resembled a giant mass of children running up and down the field surrounding the ball so it couldn't escape.
I helped out helping build an accessible playground in a nearby city park. While not very handy, I could hammer nails and help carry things. It was nice to have a purpose and something that took my mind off the jobless situation I was in.
I prayed.
While I knew during my time "between jobs" would end at some point and I would end up in a place that God had planned for me and my family... I couldn't help but hope that somewhere I would see God give me a billboard letting me know when that happy someday was coming.
There was no sign, just an opportunity to learn patience.
After seeming to exhaust the potential job openings - I took some advice and talked to our family's insurance agent. He seemed to think I could succeed at the job, so I talked to the general agent. He didn't have any open territory, but talked to a couple other general agents and then lead me to the guy in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
My interview was in early January. It sounded like blue skies, peaches, and cream all rolled into one. I said yes.
But then I had to pass the State Insurance Exam and get my Securities license. The process took three months. In the meantime, to continue qualifying for unemployment (since there wasn't a paycheck yet), I now had to apply for things I wasn't qualified to get. Makes sense, doesn't it?
In the midst of what felt like misery, confusion, and depression there were several unexpected blessings.
On unemployment we qualified for Food Stamps and for the Women-Infants and Children program. When you qualify for WIC a requirement is an exam for the children. That exam alerted us to a speech deficit in our young son Mark. Apparently he didn't cry or complain during ear infections when younger and those led to issues in learning how to pronounce and use certain sounds.
By learning that then, Mark qualified to get some help through Head Start. By the time he was in second grade, he was speaking at the level he should. A great blessing!
Qualifying for such things also provided a nice dose of humility. I don't think about people using Food Stamps the way I did prior to using them myself. It's a different feeling standing in line at the grocery store, figuring out what you can buy and hoping you don't see anyone that knows you. We also qualified for Heating Assistance.
Don't get me wrong, I would rather have been working, but in our case the safety net kept us in our home and food in our tummies. I"m very thankful for that.
The last lesson and maybe biggest came at Christmas. Our Pastor showed up with big boxes of gifts and food from our church. My pride made me want to say "No thanks," but he looked at me, smiled, and said, "David, this is what the church does. You helped others - when it is time for the church to help you - just say thanks."
It felt good later to help others again - and a good lesson in humility. Sometimes instead of making excuses or downplaying somebody's help - that's a great time to look them in the eye, shake their hand, and say thank you.
I passed the insurance exam and securities tests - and became a District Representative with Aid Association for Lutherans in early 1993 serving a territory in northern Wisconsin spanning
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