Joe Reed with Steve Randall

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We all know how it feels to get a door slammed in our face, however one of our clients, Steve Randall has experienced it a lot in the last year. The following is a story by  Employment Specialist Joe Reed of Resource Connection and his client and good friend Steve Randall. 

Steve and I had literally gone to every restaurant, retail store, and factory in town with absolutely no luck getting him a job. He was incredibly proactive in the process, bringing piles of applications to my office so I could help fill them out for him when I didn’t have appointments. He has had really strong work experience being employed at his last job for 17 years, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t get him anything. Then one day one of my other clients quit his job at a farm down in Warren (Indiana). I called the owner of the farm, and set up an interview with him and Steve. As soon as we walked in the door, the owner began explaining what the job would consist of.    

Before we knew it, Steve was offered a job. It all happened so quickly, even though it took us 10 months to find him anything. It took us about 25 minutes to get back to his house from the farm, and the whole time, Steve and I were laughing, and having a great time together. As Steve got out of my car, he went to shake my hand, looked me dead in the eye and said, “God is always good isn’t He?” I couldn’t believe it. Through all of this struggle of getting him a job, all of the doors slamming in his face, he can look back at all of that and still say that God is good. He put me in my place and reminded me of how God had been good to me in my life as well, even though it doesn’t always seem that way.

Steve’s story, to me, is a story about perseverance through difficulty. His attitude through the course of his job search was never negative. When I as his job coach had run out of ideas, Steve reminded me that God would take care of his needs, not Joe. And when everything was finished and he got his job, he remembered who got him that job and thanked God for his goodness. Steve Randall has made a profound impact on my life and I will be eternally grateful to him for the lessons he has taught me.