by Loree Cruz-Mante

Retrenchment and Christmas do not seem to go well together. The happy, celebrative spirit of the season is apparently incompatible with the obviously grim reality of unemployment. One client told me, after he was notified that he was being let go: This will be the saddest, bleakest, and most horrifying Christmas I will ever have. Such statement might be judged as hopelessly without faith, but it is easy to see how one who is retrenched at Christmastime can think this way. Being let go at any time of year is bad enough, but it is more pronounced if it happens during the season of good cheer. Grieving at Christmastime But as is always true with the seasons of life, retrenchment at this time of the year may yet prove to be one of those life-saving ambiguities. Hard as it may be to understand why one must grieve while everyone else is rejoicing, retrenchment at Christmastime is not automatically a cause for desperation. The message of hope is far too encompassing to miss out on those who are in pain during this time. May I suggest three lessons that can be gleaned from the Christmas story. No Room at the Inn The Biblical account in Luke tells us that there was no room for them (Mary and Joseph) in the inn. Isnt this what it is like to be let go? There is no more room for you in this company, goes the modern translation of the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph were not only two travelers badly needing a place to rest. Mary was heavy with child. They came a long way from home, not on some Airbus-380 or an airconditioned train coach or a leather-upholstered limousine. She came on a donkey, and he on foot. They traveled thousands of miles. They were very tired. They also badly needed a place for the baby to be born. They would do anything to find a place to rest. Similarly, the retrenched are out in the cold, with no roomin the inn. Life will not be put on hold because one is retrenched. The bills must still be paid, the children kept in school. But, as Mary and Joseph had shown, persistence eventually found a way. They DID find a spot, even though it was not what they initially sought. They did not lose the faith, knowing that the prophecy must be fulfilled. The Messiah will be born, as had been foretold. There is a future laid out for the retrenched, for you, even though it seems that such future is hazy at the moment. The plan for the Messiah to come must and was fulfilled. And so will His plan for each one, retrenched or not. You only need to persist through the transition process which includes assessing yourself, sending out resumes, getting interviewed. Like what happened to Mary and Joseph, there will be room somewhere. It may not be the career or workplace you thought was the way to go. As in the Christmas story, the way will be pointed out somehow. You just need to persist in the search.

They followed the star The three Wise Men did not have information beyond the star that guided them to the newborn Savior. They did not have a map, compass, or heat-sensing device. All they had was a star. But a star was really all they needed. Add to that, the faith to believe, the courage to trust, the daring to risk the journey, and above all, the willingness to be led. Are not faith, courage, daring, and willingness the very same things that a retrenched employee needs to have? Who can really tell what career is right, except as one is led to it by a star? That star may include single-mindedness and focus in looking for a career which you consider ideal and which best fits you. Beyond that, there is the faith that you will be led to the right place. Many job searchers miss out on this truth simply because they rely too much on their own resources. There is a star that shines for each one of us. Some people just dont recognize it and refuse to be led by it. The Wise Men followed the star, according to Biblical account. You, too, can arrive safely just by following your star. Glory to God in the highest There was much rejoicing that Christmas morn. The rejoicing was centered on the real cause: the birth of the Savior. It did not matter that He was born in a stable. It did not matter that Mary and Joseph could not find a room at the inn. Only one thing mattered: that Jesus, the one who would save the world, was born. So what if you cant afford to buy the gifts you used to give away? So what if you cant be as reckless with your spending? So what if you dont have a job this Christmas? So what if you have to look for one after the season? The real cause for celebration remains. The Savior is born. If only for this fact, then you must rejoice! Christmas pressures Our present-day Christmas celebration unduly taxes all of us to conform to consumerism, indulgence, and a misguided emphasis on non-essentials. Losing a job at this time, then, somewhat prevents the retrenched from participating in the highly-commercialized and expensive drift of Christmas gift-giving and merry-making. This fact highlights the incompatible tug of Christmas spending with the retrencheds desire to hold on to precious cash. You can be sucked in by all the hype; that is, if you allow it. The message of the Christmas story is precisely about essentials: a manger for a bed, hay for a pillow, both the mighty kings and lowly shepherds for guests, the Savior of the world wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. These paint a paradoxical image of a helpless child and a Mighty King. The paradox of Christmas In this paradox lies the hope of the Christmas story. Amidst the reality of being retrenched during this season of hope lies the message of Christmas for the retrenched: Persist even when there is no room at the inn. Follow your star. Give glory to God in the highest! This Christmas may yet be the most meaningful for you, its message more poignant than in all Christmases past. Its time to relish those really critical essentials that keep hope vital and alive, essentials which too much buying, eating, and merry-making try to eclipse out of the real message of the season. Dont miss out on the chance to cherish this Christmas
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because next year you will most likely have found a job. Having gone through a value-laden Essential Christmas this year, I hope you will prefer it to the one you used to have when you had a job. Have a good one this year!

Loree Cruz-Mante is a human resources and organization development practitioner, published writer, and career consultant with leading transitions management firm, DBM. She is also with the Interspacers Writers Group of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC). Email her at lcmante@yahoo.com.

Christmas Lessons for the Retrenched by Loree Cruz-Mante November 15, 2005

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