Belief, faith, and hope are words that we all need in our lives. Whether we’re in the boat, riding a good wave, or tipping over in a storm, as humans, we must believe that things will get better or that we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. But putting action into this belief business is tough.
My husband lost his job three months ago. Things got hard. He became anxious and nervous about our future. He did his best to act calm while at home. He’d leave the house for interviews with his head high, chest puffed out, full of confidence.
But…there were no takers in the job department.
We continued to add glue to parts of our family that needed a firmer foundation. We began communicating more as a couple and with our kids. My five-year-old son would ask, “Why did Daddy get fired, Mommy?” or “Is Daddy going to find another job?” We tried to answer those questions honestly with him. But at the same time, we wanted to keep that safe bubble wrapped around him. We said things that would affirm a positive outcome, “Daddy will find a job soon. Maybe this interview will be the one!”
Slowly, I think we began to believe these things, too. Yes, my husband and I had days when we wondered what would happen. We began researching different and unique ways to make money. Things got a little interesting to say the least. But we had a belief that it would indeed work out. It just had to.
Last week I came home from my graduate class late into the evening and I heard my husband talking on the phone. It was the CEO of an investment firm he had been eyeing for weeks. Out-of-the blue, this man called my husband at 8 o’clock at night. When my husband hung up, his neck was flushed and his belief was busting at the seams. There was an interview scheduled for that next day. And before my kindergartner left for school the following morning, he looked at his dad and said, “I believe in you, Daddy. Don’t forget to believe in yourself.”
At 3:27 my husband walked humbly through our door. “I got the job,” he said. Tears of relief rolled over the brims of his eyelids. He believed in himself, and in the fact that it would all work out. When he told our son the good news a half an hour later, our son said, “See, I told you, Daddy. You just have to believe.”
Somehow our little kindergartner picked up on our vibes. I’m sure he picked up during the days when believing was harder than others, too. But he witnessed the fight in his father and the confidence about our future as a family. Having belief can be hard—tricky, too. Sometimes the negativity weighs you down like the anchor at the bottom of the ocean. But remember, the anchor is supposed to keep the boat afloat—never letting you sink.
