Fired for Homemade Wine

It was November 2020, right before Thanksgiving, during the first year of the COVID pandemic. I walked out of the warehouse that night without a job. And to my own surprise, I was calm.

Let me back up.

Essential

Back then, I worked for a warehouse company. I won’t name it, because this story isn’t about them. When COVID hit, all of us were essential workers, no matter what our position was. Our job was to keep shipments moving, and we did. We worked the holidays. It was pretty much around the clock. If you were working anywhere during that season, you remember how heavy it felt.

I had taken that job for one reason: to make sure I took care of my responsibilities for my child. I was grateful for it. But if I’m honest, I was also praying for something better. And better was calling. I was getting calls about much better opportunities, but I kept missing them. The job was second shift with long hours, so I was sleeping when most people were working, and those calls went unanswered.

A holiday gift

That November, with Thanksgiving coming and all of us working, I wanted to share a little holiday cheer. I had made some homemade wine. So I asked my supervisor first: “Hey, I made some homemade wine. Would you like me to bring some?”

He said, “Yes.”

A friend of mine also had a mother who wanted some, so she could bake rum cakes and fruitcake for the holidays. So I loaded up. I wanted to treat the leaders I worked with, plus my manager. It was meant as a thank-you in a hard year.

It went back to HR. And before I knew it, I was fired.

What stung was how it happened. Giving alcohol as a gift was not unusual around there, so I thought it was fine as long as you weren’t drinking on the premises. I had asked first. And I watched the manager I’d spoken with act as if we never had that conversation.

I could have been angry. But as I left the facility that night, I was totally calm. Looking back, I can only explain that calm one way: God was already in it.

The door I was holding shut

Here’s what I didn’t see in the moment. The job I lost was the very thing keeping me from the doors I had been praying for. As long as I was working nights and sleeping through the day, I would keep missing those calls.

So God made room for me.

When this happened, I realized the space I was in had become too small. It was my time to be moved, even though I wasn’t ready to make the move myself. The better opportunities opened up, and two months later, I was gainfully employed doing what I enjoy best.

Moving at God’s speed

So what did I get out of this?

I learned a valuable lesson about workplace conversations. But more than that, I learned this: God moves us when He’s ready to move us. If the space is too small, or if it’s your time to be moved, you will be moved when God wants you to move.

These days, I try to move at God’s speed. I try to do things at God’s speed, simply because I know God’s way is the best way.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

If you’re on a hard road today

Maybe you just lost a job. Maybe you made a choice you keep replaying, or someone you trusted acted like they never knew you. Hear me: that is not the end of your story. The door that closed may be the very one God is using to move you forward.

Take a breath. Pray. Then watch for the door He’s opening.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

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