I attended a networking lunch yesterday where a career coach spoke to us about career transitioning and change especially in an economy like ours. One of the questions in our workbook was "how do you maintain faith over fear?" That's a really relevant question for me as I move rapidly toward my eighth consecutive week of unemployment...which is, by the way, the last week that I'll receive a paycheck from Circuit City. If there was ever a time for fear to set in, it's now.


So, how do I not let fear get the best of me and better still, how is my faith working for me in tumultuous times? For me, faith is like a muscle - it has to be worked at for it to become strong. Some ways that I work on my faith muscle is through prayer and through practice. For some, practicing their faith is going to church, for others, it's an awareness of God or a higher power. For me, it's a combination of those. I do go to church, I volunteer as a religious education teacher, I work on the social justice ministry feeding the hungry and clothing the homeless...you know, building up those treasures in heaven! But I also try to incorporate my faith into every situation - especially the bad ones.

I commit my job search to God and I do that through prayer. I ask for wisdom and guidance in the jobs that I am applying for. I ask for direction as I go about my week seeking His guidance in opportunities that may present themselves. Should I go to that job fair, should I go to that conference, should I spend more time sifting through job vacancies online? Then I rely on an intuition after that. If opportunities present themselves more than once and I feel a sense of peace and comfort, I will usually take that as a sign of something I am supposed to pursue. If I feel anxious or apprehensive about an opportunity, I generally pass.

My brain and my heart will be in sync if I am walking in faith. I won't have that gnawing feeling inside that I am doing something wrong. I start my day in prayer and meditation, asking for God's guidance and then I just go about my day without worrying about how it unfolds. I take great comfort in knowing that, no matter how the day unfolds, my faith will be strong and my God will be in the lead.

God rested on the 7th day, ball players have the 7th inning stretch, and I'm taking this week off from job hunting. With unemployment reaching double digits in some states, the odds of finding a job in the near future are slim. But job hunting is a job in and of itself, albeit a poorly paid one. So it's important to take breaks from the daily grind just like you would if you had a paying job.

I am still attending two out of three of my networking events because I enjoy them, not because I have to. And I did sit down at the computer and apply online for three jobs yesterday which took a total of one hour. But usually when I take a vacation from my job, I check in and deal with issues in some form or other so it really wasn't a big deal to send in a few online applications.

But I stepped out of my regular routine this week. I booked a massage using a gift certificate from a dear friend. I left there feeling so good, almost as though I spent a week at a spa (which I've never done so please forgive the analogy if you've done both and they are nothing alike). Then I went shopping. Since I was in Carytown for the massage in the first place, I checked out the Clothes Rack for incredible deals..and found one. Then I headed over to Short Pump Town Center to use up a credit that Macy's was nice enough to give me just because it really was mine. I've taken some long walks, played with my dogs in the yard, visited the dentist (which I really would do on my vacation time when I did have a job) and made some long overdue social phone calls. I feel rested and relaxed and come Monday morning, I'll be ready to face the job search again with renewed vigor.