When Everything Falls Apart: A Story of Faith, Job Loss, and Breakthrough
by Oluwaseyi Ayodeji, Mar 27 2025.
Though I wrote this in 2019/2020 as these events were unfolding, I never published it- until now. Looking back, I see how much God was working, even when it felt like He was silent. If you’re going through a tough season, I hope this encourages you to keep going. Your story isn’t over yet.
A Year That Began in Faith
Like so many others, we stepped into the new year in prayer, hopeful for a fresh start. My wife and I had been living in separate states for most of our marriage, waiting for the day we could finally build a life under the same roof. I had recently taken a job in Colorado, and she was in Texas, finishing up her master’s degree.
Our relationship had always required long-distance endurance. We met through a mutual friend years earlier when she was visiting from Scotland. From that very first meeting, we clicked. But after just a few months of dating, she had to return to complete her studies. The long-distance phase began, and despite my personal vow never to do long distance, there I was- FaceTiming, Skyping, and flying across time zones to see the woman who had completely stolen my heart.
When she moved to the U.S. for another degree, we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A little over a year later, we got married in Nigeria, surrounded by friends and family. It was a beautiful day, but after the celebrations, reality hit hard- we were still in two different states. She went back to Texas to finish her studies, and I moved to Colorado for a new job. The plan was for her to relocate after graduation, and for the first time in years, we had a clear finish line. Or so we thought.
The Pressure of Waiting
Marriage is a blessing, but when you add long-distance to the mix, it stretches you in ways you never expected. And then there was another layer- one we hadn’t fully anticipated.
The questions started coming almost immediately after the wedding. “When are we going to hear the good news?”“Any updates?”“Are you sure everything is okay?”
At first, we brushed them off, knowing that timing was in God’s hands. But as the months rolled by, the casual inquiries turned into more concerned prodding from well-meaning loved ones. The more people asked, the more we started asking ourselves: Is everything okay?Should we be doing something?Do we need medical help?
The pressure, both internal and external, was real. And while we never doubted that God would come through, the waiting tested our patience, our faith, and our ability to ignore the noise around us.
A New Job, A Harsh Reality
The job that brought me to Colorado was supposed to be a fresh start, but within months, it became painfully clear- I had made the wrong move.
Coming from semiconductor process engineering, I had entered a completely different world: life sciences manufacturing. The learning curve was steep, but what made it worse was the company culture. There was no proper training or onboarding. Everything was siloed- departments operated in their own bubbles with little to no collaboration. Leadership was ineffective, and the work environment felt cliquish, making it nearly impossible to integrate.
I felt stuck.
The work itself was completely different from my previous roles, and instead of getting the support I needed, I was left to figure things out on my own. The dysfunction was clear, and it wasn’t long before I realized this wasn’t a place I could thrive. That experience opened my eyes to how much of a difference strong onboarding and new hire support can make. It fueled my passion to help new employees maximize their full potential by facilitating robust and seamless onboarding processes, ensuring they never feel as lost as I once did.
By the time I started looking for a new role, I already knew the feeling was mutual. So when I was eventually laid off, I wasn’t completely shocked. That didn’t make it any easier.
Laid Off and Facing a Storm
The moment I lost my job, the financial weight of our situation became suffocating. There was a mortgage to pay, bills piling up, and no steady income. The security we had taken for granted was gone in an instant, and every expense felt heavier.
Yet, even in the middle of this chaos, we saw God’s hand. At the beginning of the year, we had read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, which pushed us to start aggressively saving. That emergency fund carried us through the next four months. If we hadn’t taken that step, we would have been drowning in debt.
Four Months That Felt Like Forever
I knew finding another job wouldn’t be easy, but nothing could have prepared me for just how long and mentally draining the wait would be. Four months might not sound like much on paper, but when you’re living it- when every day feels like an uphill battle- it’s an eternity.
For most of that time, I was alone in our Colorado home, and if I wasn’t careful, I knew the isolation and uncertainty could consume me. So, I made a conscious effort to stay busy.
I applied for jobs religiously- tweaking resumes, refining my LinkedIn profile, sending out applications like clockwork.
I started an Amazon business, something my wife and I had always wanted to do but never got around to.
I volunteered at my local church, surrounding myself with a community when I needed it most.
I exercised regularly, because I knew if my body stayed active, my mind would follow.
I wrote articles on LinkedIn, sharing my experiences and reflections to process everything I was going through.
This routine was my lifeline. It kept me from spiraling when the weight of waiting threatened to crush me.
Then, out of nowhere, another blow.
One evening, just as I was starting to feel a little momentum, I got a message from our Airbnb guest- our basement had flooded.
The culprit? A broken water heater.
Not only did we now have a major repair on our hands, but we also lost the Airbnb income that had been helping to cushion the financial strain. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did.
Breakthrough at Last
By Thanksgiving, we decided to sell our home to ease the financial burden. The timing was terrible, and showings were slow. Frustrated, I relocated to Texas to be with my wife while waiting for the house to sell.
That turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.
While in Texas, I finally got an update from a company I had been interviewing with- my onsite interview had gone well! There were still a few more steps, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like things were shifting. Around the same time, our house suddenly started getting more showings. We accepted an offer, but the deal fell through after inspection due to- you guessed it- the poorly installed water heater. More repairs, more waiting.
And then, in the span of a few weeks, everything changed.
I received a job offer. I signed immediately.
And just when we thought the year couldn’t end on a higher note, we found out we were expecting a baby.
God’s Timing is Always Better
Looking back, every disappointment, every delay, every closed door- it was all leading us here.
The job I lost made room for a better one. The long months of uncertainty forced us to trust God in new ways. The distance that felt unbearable for so long finally ended.
And the promise that had seemed so far away? It was always closer than we thought.
If you’re in a season where nothing makes sense- where the waiting feels endless, the setbacks feel unfair, and you’re questioning whether God is even paying attention- hold on.
He is working behind the scenes. And when the breakthrough comes, you’ll see that He was faithful all along.
Keep the faith. Your story isn’t over yet.
