Hope in the Trenches

Recently, a woman with extremely strong hiring credentials wrote an article that went viral. It was titled, “How I Got Rejected From a Job at the Container Store.” Her commentary on her inability to get a job provided humor and insight, but it was a quote toward the end of the peace that most resonated with me:

” … Most of us are just a single job loss, a single medical diagnosis, a single broken marriage removed from a swirling, chaotic, wholly uncontained abyss.”

(2 sentences later, and spoiler alert!)

“Thankfully, my own story has a happy ending. I just got hired … “

~ by Deborah Copaken on Cafe.com …

Yes, the abyss is awful. And it certainly feels uncontained for the seemingly infinite time it lasts. BUT, as we say in the investment business, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” And in this case, when the past has been particularly hideous, holding out hope that things will change is a great thing.

Because things do change. And while we are in the trenches, there are valuable lessons to be learned. This is where faith comes in. In my case, I believe God can make a beautiful tapestry out of my life, no matter how ugly I find this present thread that He is weaving. Yes, it’s U-G-L-Y ugly. But we have not yet seen how it fits in the larger picture.

There is beauty to be found in the trenches, because that is where we grow stronger. That is where we discover the identity of our truest friends and family. That is where we acquire real empathy. And most importantly, the trench won’t last forever. See the above quote? In the narrative of her story, it was only two sentences between the trench and her recovery. I’m willing to bet if felt like forever, because that’s part of the reason the trench is so disheartening. But the trench did end, and she was hired. Yours won’t go on forever either.

What does this have to do with finance? Well, it is standard practice in our industry to cover those riskiest aspects of life (death, disability, natural disaster, auto accident, burglary, illness) with insurance. The idea is to ensure these incidents are paid for so financial recovery will be easier. It would be nice to cover every single possible pitfall so we wouldn’t have to worry so much. But the average American can’t afford to mitigate every single liability, so we pick and choose the ones that are most likely. (Read my story of how I chose not to cover an unlikely risk, and it happened anyway… There is beauty in the trenches.)

So many of us will probably find ourselves in the trenches at some point anyway. But that’s ok. It won’t be fun, and you can do some useful grieving there. But you don’t have to go it alone, and you will eventually find beauty even among the ugliest threads. Have faith that it will all make sense in the greater, long-term tapestry of our lives. Pledge to learn all that can be harvested from our time in the trenches, that time need not be wasted.

If you find yourself grappling with a difficult financial situation, let’s talk. I am excellent company while you’re there in the trenches, and together we can craft a way to get you out.

Click here to apply for a free financial coaching session to help you out of that trench.