Article September 1, 2008 Issue

OUR FAMILY'S JOURNEY OUT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

BY LAURA THORBURN-GUNDLACH

A few years ago our family discovered a precious treasure. It had always been ours, but we found we had to fight to see it. This fight was "not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (II Cor. 10:4). And the treasure wasn't "carnal," either. It was the realization that God alone sustains us and satisfies our every need.

When I'd decided to be a stay-at-home mom, we were financially secure with my husband David's income. Computer jobs were abundant, and with his knowledge and expertise, David found his skills were in demand. It seemed the phone was always ringing with more opportunity.

But all of that came to an abrupt end. Around the end of 2000, the US experienced the crash of the "dotcoms." Suddenly not only was the ringing of opportunity silent, but David's own job-search calls weren't getting returned. What seemed to make matters worse, because of the nature of his on-the-edge-of-technology profession, the longer he was out of work, the less desirable he was to hire. I, too, had a computer science degree, but I'd been away from the world of technology for so long that I wasn't able to get anything permanent, either. With two small children, we were willing to move our family anywhere a job would take us, even to a change of occupation. But at every turn, the door seemed to slam in our face. This went on for three years.

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