Below is a personal testimony of God’s faithfulness to our family in times of uncertainty and great need.
Back in 2020 we lived in Everett, and I was working for T-Mobile at that time. All was going well until T-Mobile bought Sprint and the two companies merged. As part of the combined merger the FCC required T-Mobile had to lay off 10% of its combined workforce. In June of 2020 I received a 15-minute confidential meeting on my calendar. My director proceeded to tell me I was being let go. In all my years working in corporate America, this was my first layoff. Thankfully, T-Mobile provided a severance package, but every kind of emotion was running through my mind, and I was faced to confront the reality of “How am I going to provide for my family now?”
For the next six months it was a daily full-time job applying to and interviewing with different companies. We were willing to relocate to Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, even Maine. By November, after hundreds of applications and several rejections, we were down to the last of our savings. With no hope in sight, out of the blue a co-founder from a start-up reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to interview with them. In less than 10 days I went from receiving that message to being offered a job. Jesus had already prepared a way where there was no way.
I worked at that startup for one year. 11 months into it I found out the company was going to be sold, and everyone would be laid off. There wouldn’t be any severance packages this time and we didn’t have any savings stored up from the last layoff. The dread and trauma of the T-Mobile lay off came rushing back to me all at once. I said, “Not again!” And the same question as before stole my peace “How am I going to provide for my family now?”
Well, the next month December 2021, a former coworker of mine from T-Mobile reached out and said “Hey, I am hiring on my team at Zulily. I think you would be good fit.” I proceeded to tell her I didn’t have the skills and experience she was looking for. I tried to talk her out of offering me a job that I needed! Thankfully she insisted and two weeks after that conversation I was offered a job, just as the startup closed. Jesus had already prepared a way where there was no way.
I was at Zulily for two years. The position was fully remote so after the first six months we moved from Everett to Kennewick. As soon as we moved to Kennewick, Zulily went downhill fast financially. We found out the company was going out of business. We suddenly went from a celebratory mood to “What happens if I get laid off, what are we going to do? We just moved here.”
Side note, one of our core values and non-negotiables is that we always give no matter our financial situation. We have truly experienced joy unspeakable in our lives through giving. Well fast forward to October of 2023 and we decided to increase our giving by a certain amount of dollars per month.
Two weeks after we made that commitment, I received that dreaded 15-minute confidential meeting on my calendar. As soon as I received it I said, “Ok Lord, no matter what happens you are a good God and I will trust you”. I walked out of the room and told Lola. We prayed together and then I went to the meeting.
I was given notice I was being laid off, but they kept me on until December. That alone was a blessing because there wasn’t any severance package. Everyone else who was notified that day was immediately laid off! I had an extra two months!
After a day or so of getting over the shock, I wrote down a list of ‘now what?’ questions. Lola said, “I understand you are the provider and there is wisdom in doing our part to plan for what’s next. But that is a list of things we are trying to solve in our own strength and own flesh. Let’s let God do His thing and surprise us.” So, I put the list down and ignored it.
December 2023 rolled around and at that point, we as a family were struggling with all kinds of thoughts. Thoughts like “This doesn’t make any sense” and “Why did you move us to Kennewick Lord?” And I even told God, “We are not going to stop giving and I’m not backing out on our word to increase our giving. I need you to help me honor that commitment”.
With Christmas a week and a half away, and only about a month of savings left, we didn’t really know what to do. Get this, 2023 was our biggest giving year ever as a family. We gladly invested a huge part of our savings from the sale of our house into the kingdom through various ministries.
Well, on Christmas day as we finished opening presents as a family, my parents said there was one more thing. They told us that over the course of the last six months, they were in the process of selling some farmland my grandparents owned in Quincy. Then they handed us an envelope. And inside that envelope was a check, and the amount of that check was equal to the total amount we gave to all the ministries in 2023. Jesus had already prepared a way where there was no way.
For the next four months it was a daily full time job applying to and interviewing with different companies. It was an emotional rollercoaster ride. Including doing eight rounds of interviews with one company over the course of two months. They said, “Congratulations we want to hire you! We are sending you an offer letter tomorrow.” Well tomorrow came, and the next day, and the next day, with no offer letter. They then followed up and said they made a mistake; the role was never approved to be open in the first place and they could not offer me the job after all.
On top of being unemployed, Eli was messing around at school one day and fractured his collarbone. That fracture required surgery with a metal plate and six screws. Not only was it hard to see my son go through that, but the bill for the surgery alone was $40K, not including anesthesia, the emergency room, and all the other hospitals bills. I said, “Ok Lord, we didn’t need this, and you know I can’t afford a $40K plus medical bill right now.”
By the end of April 2024, I was so frustrated and exhausted I finally said “Lord, we are down to our last month of savings again and my way isn’t working. I am going to stop applying for jobs. If you want us to not sell the house and stay in the Tri Cities, you will have to bring the right one to me, so then I will know without a shadow of a doubt it’s you.” The very next week a recruiter from a company called Beyond reached out to me. They bought the old Zulily and were looking to hire people to relaunch it. In less than two weeks, I made it through five rounds of interviews, and they made me an offer that was higher than what they budgeted the role for and more than I made at the old Zulily. And on top of that, I learned that the hospital offered a one-time hardship forgiveness program for people in situations like mine. I applied, was approved, and as a result they waived all our hospital fees. God took away all the expenses for our medical bills! Jesus had already prepared a way where there was no way.
Now fast forward to March 10, 2025. Guess what? I received that dreaded 15-minute confidential meeting on my calendar I have seen 100 times. It was the typical “Thanks for all the nights, and weekends, and sacrifice. We truly appreciate what you did, and we are sorry to see you go!” So April 10th was my last official day at Beyond.
As of now, I don’t have a job lined up yet. I don’t know what we are going to do. We have to eat into our savings again. The job market is chaotic and cutthroat. Forbes said that in the first two months of this year alone, there has been a combined 250K layoffs across industries and steadily increasing. I’ve already been turned down with a company I interviewed with four times that I thought for certain I would get.
On the surface, hope is bleak again. But hasn’t God proven all along that Jesus has already prepared a way where there is no way?