My Anne is Awesome!

I know that most 50 somethings that are unemployed assume that getting a new job will be much more difficult because of their age. We live in a world that worships the youthful and believes that the old should be put out to pasture. It is becoming more common for companies to seek early retirement of those with nice salaries that are older to save their business big bucks. The challenge for many today is that finding a new job when you haven’t worked in a long time is very slow and not easy.

I know that I have been fortunate to have jobs whether that is with doing church or construction work my entire life. I have never really been unemployed because of God putting people in my life who have always stepped up to give opportunities. Yet, I know that without God’s generous funding of New City I would be looking for a job that would pay the bills. So I know that when my Anne had gotten down sized or outsourced a year or so ago that it wasn’t going to be easy to find another job. Yet, she found a temp job that provided for 8 months but it too came to an end.

So the next phase in Anne’s journey in pursing not really a job but her calling and vocational choice for her ‘old age’ has turned out to be clinical spiritual care in the context of an ER or Trauma Unit at Good Sam Hospital. We typically laugh at the question of how old we are because now it usually turns out that we are the older ones. Anne has been part of a clinical spiritual care unit over the last 4 months. She has learned more about herself, her calling and her giftedness which has put her in a position to have ‘Godly’ confidence in being a shepherd and counselor.

I know it is easy for me to act very confident about what I do and not be more understanding of what it is like to go through training and then have to interview for a residency position for further training. My Anne comes across very confident and capable but much like me, she too has fears of thinking that maybe I’m too old or there is someone else more suitable to get the opportunity. So Anne was interviewed last week for a residency position at Good Sam. I know that she was fearful of being interviewed by one of the trainers who is very different from her. She was told that a decision would come in two weeks.

Anne ended up being on call, this means she worked 12 hours, on Saturday and when I went to get the mail there was an envelope addressed to her. It was very official looking from the spiritual care department from Good Sam. I was sorely tempted to open it up but chose to refrain from invading her privacy. I too was so fearful that it had come too early and probably meant that she didn’t get the position. Anne got home rather late that day and then ended up staying up late to get Jodi and Jon from their honeymoon trip at the airport around 1am.

The following morning we had to go early and preach and do presentation at a Chinese Church. I noticed that she had opened the envelope but hadn’t said anything. Do I ask the obvious or just wait and look at the letter when she is gone? As I am getting out of the shower I ask her the obvious question. I was hoping that she would have told me already if she had gotten the residency. She quietly says that she has gotten the position. I’m thrilled, excited and ecstatic for her! I quickly texted the good news to our kids and then sent an e-mail to our larger family.

I fix Anne a feast for a reward after doing another on call shift at Good Sam that saw her leave at 7am and return home around 9:30pm. I listen to her overview of her day and the interaction with the others involved in the spiritual care program. It was obvious that no one else had gotten notice about whether they had been invited to participate in the residency program. My Anne was pleasantly surprised that she had been invited even before all of the others had been interviewed.

I’m so proud and excited for my Anne. I know that this chapter of her life will be both challenging and an opportunity for both of us to grow together. Yes, there is hope for a 50 something to get a job and opportunity in today’s job sector. So don’t assume that because you are young you are more qualified than an old person for that job and don’t be intimidated by youth if you are a seasoned veteran of the workforce trying something totally different!