The Road to Becoming a Work at Home Dad {Part 1}

February 11th, 2013

{The last 3 1/2 years have come with some bumps and bruises in this road from unemployment to entrepreneur. We thought we had learned our lessons in trusting the Lord through the birth of our quadruplet sons, but God has showed us just how incapable we are of doing anything on our own, and has revealed an even greater need to rely on Him through the storms and the calm. 

It’s been on Brad’s heart to share some of this journey with you all, and so for the next few Monday’s we’ll continue this series in hopes that our story and struggles could be an encouragement in your lives… }

When you were a child, do you remember the first time one of your friends or siblings asked you if you wanted to play 52 card pickup?  You had never heard of this game, and out of your ignorance you gleefully said “yes”!  In the next moment you saw a blizzard of cards falling from the ceiling in mass chaos.The cards settled in a catastrophic mess all around you… and a few moments later, a mischievous smile crossed your “friends” face as they say, “now pick them up!”

Three years ago God played 52 card pickup with our lives…again.  He had a great plan to reshape our lives completely starting with quadruplet boys, we just didn’t know it wasn’t over yet.   Our sense of security, financial stability, daily routine, marriage roles, vision of the future, and priorities were all thrown high into the air on that fall day. 

In September of 2009, after 6 years at Woolpert, the only company I had ever worked for since college full-time laid off 2 more employees.  For months on end, they had cut 2-5 employees at a time.  There were about 25 people in our department when it began, and by late summer, our number had been reduced to 7.  Some really great people had already been sent home jobless, and I was grateful to still be employed.

I thought I had survived the layoffs that started at the beginning of the year.  We had enough work to keep us busy with our reduced numbers, and I allowed myself to relax.  Jen and I even bought airline tickets as we planned a trip to Disney World to celebrate her 30th birthday.  It was nice to see life getting back to normal.

On September 30th I left work early to go home and help Jen get the boys ready to go to grandma’s house, and pack for our trip.  Shortly after I got home I noticed an email in my inbox which announced that my friend, Steve, had been let go.  This was a shocking surprise, after I felt like we were already down to a skeleton crew.  I wanted to ignore the email and get on that plane to Florida the following morning to enjoy a long weekend with my bride.

But I couldn’t do it, I told Jen I had to drive back to work and confirm my job was secure…

{Photo Credit}

Continue to Part 2…