Humbled and Grateful

Wow! The week that I've really had trouble motivating myself to go to work it turns out around 60 people were laid off! It's not really surprising. Metal prices were so high and just kept going higher, and now that they have tanked, we've been losing funding on mines. What's sad is that many of the people who were laid off were some of the hardest workers there! One of the secretaries in particular is the most competent one I've worked with! I NEVER had to correct her work unless I had it marked up wrong to begin with! And she was a lot faster than most!

I'm really in shock, especially since the company was growing like crazy before the metal prices dropped. I've also heard that job offers for those who are graduating are not to be expected. While I'd like to believe that since I've been more than just a drafter at work, and have actually learned a lot about piping and tanks and specifications, etc., that I would still have gotten an offer if we weren't moving to New Hampshire, I realize now that that was never a guarantee.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful experiences I have had at M3, and how much I have learned. Even though I get fed up with people sometimes, I've loved working there, and I love being able to consider myself a piper. My job has made school feel more worth it, even though sometimes I feel like I learn more at work than at school.

I'm also especially grateful for a Heavenly Father who has kept his eye on us. It's times like these that I feel especially blessed. Matthias receiving his job in New Hampshire is such a blessing. We had backup plans, and things to fall back on, and he's received offers for follow-up interviews with other companies, but that we already have that little bit of security in this economy that is falling apart makes me feel so grateful! I only hope that we can show our gratitude enough!

I'm also grateful to know that it is possible to live on just about nothing. When we first got married we were terrified about finances. Luckily I had barely started at M3 when we got married, so we had a small income, and Matthias was able to get a valet job that made it so we hardly saw each other, but we were able to start saving a little bit of money, even though we were making so little. I have such a testimony about saving for a rainy day, living within your means, and being prepared for the worst.

Losing a job can happen to the cream of the crop. The secretary that got laid off (I hear a few did, but I worked with this one personally) was ALWAYS receiving compliments from the engineers, and that means something! I sure hope that everyone that got laid off is able to find work soon. I know that it happened because mines are pulling funding, and thus M3 doesn't have the money to pay that many people anymore. They are wonderful people, and I hope that you'll all keep them in your prayers!