Finding Encouragement

“I personally feel that being the wife to an unemployed man means we need to do our part to show love in tangible ways, to be his best friend in the storm, to try lifting his spirits when we can, and to help boost his self esteem.”                                               ~ Rosann Cunningham, UnEmployed Faith

I love this quote from the book Unemployed Faith.  But what if the wife is the one who is the breadwinner and unemployed – where does encouragement come from then?

From the womb, I was a tom-boy.  I loved westerns and empathizing with the gunslingers and not the “helpless” women.  I always either had a toy gun in my hand or a race car.  No matter how many dolls Momma gave me, I had more fun with the “boy toys”.

My grandfather owned a hardware store, so I wanted to play store instead of house.  My whole life has been around not being helpless, of being in control.  I always believed I had more of a boy’s brain than a girl’s.

But, as I grew older, I definitely knew that I had at least part of a girl’s brain, because my feelings would get hurt discouraged at things that didn’t phase my husband.

I have been unemployed before, but this time is different.  God always came through in the other three times I have been laid off.  The week unemployment ran out, God had a job waiting for me.  I never doubted.

Now this unemployment happened.  God doesn’t seem to be anywhere around.  Bills are piling up, threats of house forclosure, threats of lawsuits for non payment, threats of reposession are happening on a weekly, if not daily basis.

I really love my husband, but all I hear from him is what we need to spend money on next, not what he is going to do to help.  It is always about what I need to do.

How do you find encouragement when there is none around to encourage?

Go back to the Bible.  All the encouragement you will need God will lead you to.  Also, find some good sites on Facebook.  The UnEmployed Faith group is great place for encouragement and to find others in your exact place of discouragement.

Always find something to give God praise for.  This simple but hard thing to do always comforts me and puts my attitude in a different place.

I hope this helps encourage others who are searching for something, anything to hold on to in this storm that threatens to overwhelm.

Related articles

• Hold on to Hope! (1safeharborisjesus.wordpress.com)
• The Hard Life Of An Encourager (tarsusjournal.com)
• Jobless or unemployed: What’s the difference? (badassandersons.com)
• Everyone Else Has the Wonderful Perfect Life (chermor2.wordpress.com)
• Thank You (mindlovemisery.wordpress.com)