Redundancy and a New Job

I got made redundant earlier this year and it was a pretty uncomfortable situation.  My service has been through four restructures in the eight years I have been here.  After the anxiety and stress of getting through each one and not losing my job, I knew that there would always be another one a year or two away.  For this, the fourth one, I was seconded (loaned) to another department for a transformation project.  I learned so much, but I was also out of the loop and an easy option to dismiss.

Of all things that you experience when you are called in to be given the news: stress, anxiety, fear for the future, the ones that were the hardest to deal with were shame and embarrassment.  At being chosen to be the one to go for the chop, at feeling like the least of the group to be dismissed, even though I know that is not the case.

It is at times like this that I am grateful for my faith.  Islam, teaches us that our rizq (sustenance and income) is written and will get to us no matter what.  We trust in Allah (SWT) to provide for every one of us.  So for all the worry and embarrassment, I was not frightened of being left in hardship.  I knew that there would be a way forward and that it would be the best course for me alhamdulillah.

After two months of moping, feeling upset and trying to find my feet again, I have secured a new job.  They say that when one door closes, another opens.  That after hardship comes ease.  I felt so bad, but when the door opened, it opened onto something that I could not have imagined.  If I had drawn up the exact job I wanted in the place I wanted, it would have looked like this job. It is a mixture of policy, strategy, community engagement and special projects that draws on my previous experience and the new skills I have gained.  It’s within walking distance from home, my mums home and my children’s schools (rather than a 15 minute drive or 50 minute commute as currently) and it is close to shops and a library (unlike my present job which has nothing but open space nearby).  It feels like a very generous answer to a dua.  I am due to hand in my notice soon (once references and documents have cleared) and I am nervous and excited and grateful beyond words alhamdulillah

I pray that I use this new role to help and serve others and that I am a source of benefit for people insha’Allah.  I also pray that I grow and develop in this new role into a better, more confident version of me and that this work is a source of enjoyment and benefits insha’Allah.