Hold Out for Good Works

All the days of my struggle I will hold out

until my change comes.

(Job 14:14)

As a young girl, I knew that my great-grandfather was a good provider for our family. By day, he worked on someone else's farm, and on nights and weekends, he built houses in the community. In times of plenty, he was able to create residual income from rental properties. In times of struggle, he could sell one of his well-constructed houses to a neighboring family. Well into my teenage years, I could look down and around Lowe Street and see the results of his good works. My lesson learned: knowing how to work with your hands dramatically improves your ability to never be without work.

The U.S. employment numbers were released today. 148,000 jobs were added in September. The largest gains were in the fields of construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing. (A summary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be located at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm). The unemployment rate held at 7.2%, which happens to be the near the average rate for a high school graduate. Consider these statistics for unemployment based on attained educational levels. Unemployment rates for

High School Dropout = 10.3%
High School Graduate = 7.6%
Some College = 6.0%
BA or higher = 3.7%
My lesson learned: having an education dramatically improves your probability to never be without work.

In spite of what has happened in recent weeks, I feel that we are on brink of economic recovery relative to jobs in industrial manufacturing and construction. While the manufacturing numbers remained flat in this report, my anecdotal evidence (based on my travel schedule) is that activity is picking up. Of the 148k jobs added in September, 20,000 of those were construction related. And if the Gulf Coast region is any indication, that number will see dramatic increases in the foreseeable future. Our bid activity also reflects this trend. For all those naysayers, growing weary from worry about the days of time and toil, my advice is simply to keep the faith and wait patiently. My lesson learned: holding out and enduring during trials dramatically improves your tolerability to never be without work.

In the words of Rev. James Cleveland: The way may not be easy/ You never said that it would be/ But when I get tired/ Can’t find my way/ You told me to put my trust in Thee/ Help me to hold out/ Until my change comes. That song gives me motivation to get through these struggling times on the journey to good works. Instead of worry, I put my hands, mind, and faith to work reading, thinking, studying, praying, and praising Him in advance for the accomplishment of His purposed work, learning to hold out until my change comes. How are you holding out until your appointed time for your good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.