What Does This Mean?

By now, observant readers of this blog will have identified my background as a Lutheran pastor. In the foot steps of Martin Luther, one of my favorite theological and practical questions in many situations is "What does this mean?" Some of you may know that Luther wrote an entire volume of catechetical instruction base on the premise of question and answers. The primary questions utilized for the six chief parts of the catechism is "What does this mean?"

Today was another typical day in this non-employment era of my life. Apply for more jobs, submit more resumes and receive more e-mail letters informing me that I am no longer being considered for a certain position. One such letter regarding a non-profit position for which I had applied contained the following statement. "While we were very impressed with the strength of your prior experiences and education, we are no longer considering your application." What does this mean? Does the aforementioned statement mean that I am not qualified for the position? Does it mean that I lack the necessary skills to perform the job effectively for which I applied? Does it mean I am overqualified or too old?

Or what about the following line which often appears in notifications that I am no longer being considered for a specific position? "Your information will remain active in our system, so please check back for future opportunities. " In this case, the onus is completely placed on me to check back for future job openings with the same company. Sometimes the response is something like this: "Your resume will remain active in our system for six months. Should a future job opening closely match your skills and experience, we will contact you to set up an interview." Of course, six months went by and apparently no job openings matched my skills and experience. What does all of this mean?

Well, seven months into the current era in my life, one thing is sure. Bill and I have learned to survive on a fraction of our former income. Metro area Caribou Coffee stores are missing two of their better customers! Our spending on gas has decreased dramatically even when prices took a major dip. Now that gas prices are climbing again, I am hoping and praying for a position closer to home than farther away. Then again, any position that utilizes my skills and experience will be welcomed as long as the compensation is reasonable. When that times comes that I am once again gainfully employed, our entire approach to finances is likely to be more closely guarded.

Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned is that none of us should ever take anything for granted. October 30, 2008 was among one of the most shocking days of my life, yet I was not surprised. Therein lies one irony of this experience. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah (chapter 40) compares human beings to the grass of the field. As long as there is plenty of water, the grass grows and flourishes. Once the water dries up and the dry winds blow in, the grass withers and dries up. Many things in life are very tenuous like that. Our jobs, our families, our friends, our homes and even our lives - all of them may be intact today but any one of them or all of them may be gone in an instant.

What does this mean? If I were to sum what all of this means to me, I would have to say that we may consider living each day like it is our last. Or as Tim McGraw's hit country song so aptly put it - "live like you were dying". Each tomorrow is a gift, whether it be another day on the job, another day with a terminally ill loved one, another day in the home you worked so hard to obtain or another day with your family. "This is most certainly true!"

~ DB Turnmire