In the blink of an eye

Today has been a heartbreaking day. As one person quoted, “it’s like a death in the family.” However, its even more than that…the closing of International Paper in Franklin, VA is the death of a community, a region. I can endlessly count the number of people I know that work for IP and will be losing their jobs by Spring 2010. It is a terrible feeling, knowing there is nothing that can be done and knowing that the little town of Franklin, where I have so many memories and friends, is going to suffer drastically. It is truly a blessing to know that my parents have steady jobs during this economic downturn, but I still feel the pain of so many that are without jobs and financial security. All any of us can do now is pray, and hope that within all of this devastation, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I know everything happens for a reason, and God has a plan. A friend got it perfectly correct with this bible verse, and I thought it was worth sharing:

Deut. 4 – 30: “When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. 31: “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor… forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them..

-xoxo