I've heard it said that when one door closes another door opens. I firmly believe that, and have for some time, but every once in awhile the theory gets tested in my life. I also believe that my God is a Sovereign and loving God, and that nothing happens to me that He hasn't allowed for some good reason. This belief also gets tested from time to time.  I do private home care and have been in the same job for the last three and one half years.  Its been a good job, probably the best one I've ever had. I have very much enjoyed my time with the lady I've been caring for, and though we didn't always see eye to eye, have gotten along fairly well with her daughter who hired and paid me. Last night, out of the blue, with no hint of there having been any kind of a problem, my boss, the daughter, gave me a severance check and told me I was no longer needed. Needless to say, I was shocked. Besides the scarey place of suddenly being out of work, there is the blow to the pride when you think all is well, and you are doing a good job, and suddenly you are told, thanks for your time and effort, but we don't need you anymore. I wasn't terribly upset so much as being a bit blown away with the news.  I did what I always do when something like that happens: I called on some dear friends who are always there for me. When I eventually went home and went to bed, I had trouble getting to sleep, not so much from worry or concern as from being wound up from thinking about the possibilities of what I could do next. Should I immediately look for another similar job in this area? Should I try something different for a change? maybe go back to school (which I had actually been thinking about recently)? Is it time to think about trying again to move back to Maine so I can be a help to my elderly parents?

  As I've continued to mull over the options, last night and today, the shock has worn off and I've begun to look forward to the next phase of my life. I'm beginning to lean towards the idea of moving back to Maine, though I'm not yet abandoning other possibilities.  Since I've managed to get out of debt in the past year,  had a little money saved already, and just received a pretty nice little severance check, I'm in a much better position financially than I've been in years, certainly alot better off than I was when I left Maine in October of '96 to come to eastern NY to work. I posted a couple adds online to try to sell my mobile home here, which, if it sells, will add to my security fund, and enable me to live several months, maybe even more than a year in Maine without a job, and make it possible to finally finish the work that needs to be done on my house there if I get a job soon. I have already received some response to those adds. So I move into another period of change in my life as I think about and pray about all this. It will be interesting to see where I'm at physically and mentally, emotionally and spiritually, come another year. I have often fought change when it wasn't my choice. But I've learned over the years that whatever the changes that come, something good will come from it. So I embrace the changes, seeking to be better for them, and hoping that others will profit also from the changes in my life, and thanking God for what He's going to do.