Like 9.7 percent of the U.S. population, I am currently unemployed. Unlike many other people, I am blessed to be unemployed at a time when I don't have numerous dependents or outstanding debts. And I have the comfort of knowing that there is a plan, and someday, perhaps not until judgment day, someday, I will understand why.
However, if one more person tells me that "I just know God has big plans for you" or "Don't worry, everything's going to turn out great" or dismisses the thought that maybe God wants me to be unemployed, I might just go all St. Jerome on them (and I don't mean translating the Bible into Latin).
I don't doubt for an instant that God loves me. As Fr. John Corapi likes to say, "If you don't know about love, then you had better look at a crucifix fast."
But being a Christian does not mean that you are exempt from suffering
.Look at the saints. Hasn't their testimony been that the closer you get to Christ crucified, the more you suffer? Didn't Jesus say "take up your cross and follow me"? Doesn't the Bible mention something like "But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ..."
So please, folks, stop offering me empty assurances of earthly delights as a sign of God's love. Tell me that my financial instability is a gift, because it means I have to cling to Him. Tell me that I can offer up my mental anguish for the souls in purgatory. Tell me that things might not work out as I hope, that I might end up with a job I hate.
Just don't confuse God's will with what I might want. I have a hard enough time dealing with that on my own.
If you want to encourage me, tell me you're praying for me. It'll inspire me to do the same.
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