stories
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Bill
Bill – 47 yrs – How job loss was God’s way of getting his attention
Bill is a husband and father of two children. His life has been about his professional career, trying to save for retirement, and caring for his family. Unfortunately, all inwardly focused on himself and his family. There was emptiness in him, yet there was no time for God.
With everything running along according to plan, he suddenly and unexpectedly veered off course. In roughly a year, he lost both his father and mother. Then, with the economy getting increasingly rocky, he abruptly found himself in a conference room at work where he was being told there was no longer a place there for him.
Bill found himself in the job market, frantically updating his resume, practicing his interviewing skills, and starting to conduct networking meetings with business colleagues. It was then that a neighbor and close friend gave him the names of a few people to meet with.
The first meeting proved to be extremely productive. He gained a lot of job market insights and gained a new friend. It had been everything that his neighbor had predicted.
The second meeting, however, was something altogether different. Bill’s neighbor had refused to tell him anything about the second man, saying just that they needed to meet. Encouraged by the first networking referral, Bill scheduled the meeting. It was a lunch meeting at a local restaurant. What ensued was beyond anything he could have expected. It started as a routine networking get-together, exchanging names, titles, and the usual, but then moved into a discussion of spirituality. To be blunt – Bill never saw the truck coming!
The man, an evangelist, asked Bill about his relationship with Jesus. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and excusing himself from the meeting, Bill answered the question. As the dialogue progressed, Bill realized that he was there for a reason. Something was happening. It felt natural and right. Less than an hour later, he was seated in the man’s car in the parking lot. They prayed out loud and then Bill accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Some weeks later, the neighbor invited Bill to attend a morning men’s Bible study group. At that meeting, Bill met both of the men the neighbor had referred him to along with several others. That morning Bill learned that this group of men had been praying for him to accept Jesus for several years! With tears dwelling in his eyes, Bill came to see first hand how the Lord works through others to achieve His purpose.
Since then, Bill’s life has changed in countless ways. He’s found balance in his personal and professional life. He introduced his daughter to Christ and watched her being saved. Bill and his wife started attending church regularly and have both become active in their church. Oh yes, he also found a new job.
Bill said there isn’t a day that he doesn’t thank Jesus for saving him and that he will never forget those who the Lord put in his path. His life today is far from perfect, but it’s focused on trying to do God’s will – from helping at church to aiding others around him. With a balance of professional, personal, and spiritual life, Bill has found a deeper happiness than he’s ever known and he gives all the credit to Jesus Christ.