“Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith."
~ 2 Timothy 4:7
It was an economic downturn that threw
Mateo and his family off track. Earlier
that spring and typically a busy time for construction work, he sat home for weeks
without any jobs lined up. That had never
happened in all the years he’d been an independent contractor. Hard times were coming.
He tried desperately to find steady job with a construction
company but by then, no one was hiring. They no longer had the extra income needed
to support his wife’s fledgling bookkeeping business. That went under too.
He filed for bankruptcy, his house was foreclosed on and his
car repossessed. Unemployed for the
first time in his life, 42 year-old Mateo had lost everything.
He was broken; shattered really. His heart beat without purpose; his mind
desperate for some reason to live. Any
notion of hope quickly vanished like a desert mirage.
He did schoolwork early in the mornings and after class in
the afternoons before he started his 3 to 11 shift. He rarely saw his wife, who’d gone back to
school as well to get a teaching degree. She worked days, he worked nights. And when he was home he was studying.
Initially, Mateo took classes just to occupy his mind and keep
despair from coagulating in his veins. After completing the basic coursework, he set
his sights on an undergraduate degree. The
thought energized him. Others noticed a
buoyancy in his step that hadn’t been there before.
Nearly a decade after his life unraveled, Mateo graduated with
a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. As he walked (more like strutted) across the
stage to accept his diploma, the crowd exploded in applause for him.
It had taken more than a decade to get his degree. It took him less than a month to land a dream
job (while continuing his custodial chores, of course). He never lost hope.
Friends, as we ponder our New Year’s Resolution, let’s be
honest. Few of us really want things to
be completely different. We just want
life to get better, or easier. We can
handle a tune-up or face-lift, but drastic change? Medication, yes; surgery, no.
So my resolution for 2018 is to tuck stories like this one
into my back pocket, and when I’m upset or feeling down on my luck, I resolve
to pull these out and re-read them for inspiration. Then I’ll look up … and trust the One who
holds my future.
Friends - may this new year be a time of deep
spiritual growth, a time of welcoming the Lord’s graces and gifts, a time for
forgiving freely and unconditionally, a time for growing. Best Wishes for 2018!
