Blessed Are the Poor (I Hope)
Last week, without any notice, I lost my job.
Our family will be fine… I think. The timing was less than ideal, as my wife is due with our third child in less than a month.
Odds are that a future employer will not want me to write here. And I’d hate that. I’d miss you guys.
So, I’m going to give folks the option of buying a subscription to Yankee Athonite.
I didn’t want to do this. I’ve always preferred to write just for the love of it. But that’s not an option anymore. Alas.
To be clear, 100% of my posts will be free for anyone to read, anywhere in the world (at least for the time being).
But if you would like to help me support my family—and encourage me to keep writing—we would certainly be grateful.
Above all, please pray for us. We’ll be praying for all of you.
In Christ,
Michael
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your job. I know from experience how scary that can be. A little over 12 years ago, 3 months after buying our first home and 1 month before the birth of our first child, I was unexpectedly laid off. Caught me totally off guard and felt like the absolute worst timing. I had zero prospects on the horizon. However, I ended up being able to help my wife prepare for the arrival of our first child and got to be there with him for the first 3 months of his life, which I would not now trade for the world. A friend at our parish ended up making an introduction for me with a friend of his who owned a local company. I ended up getting hired on and it's been the best job I've ever had, filled with unexpected opportunities and growth. I've been there for 12 years now.
"Completely have trust in God, leave: everything in His hands, and believe that His love will act for your own benefit. Then God will take care of everything, because there is nothing He cannot do; everything is easy for Him. The difficult thing is for man to decide to humble himself and leave everything to God's providence and love."
- St. Paisios of Mount Athos
As a father of three who was told last week that my work contract would not be renewed at the end of the year, I can relate... (though I have time on my side, unlike you). In any case, I'll gladly move to a paid subscription and pray for you and your family.