unemployed graduates

Education and hard work: that's all you need to succeed in the real world. Or so we're taught. I've done a little Googling. It seems that at least 20% of the unemployed in the USA have an extended academic education.

I've had conversations recently with a couple of unemployed graduates. One is a lifelong friend. She's brilliant, and undoubtedly good at whatever she puts her mind to. The other is a newer friend. A very kind man, educated, experienced, and passionate.

Both are over qualified. Over qualified for the jobs they're educated for. Over qualified for the jobs they've worked hard for. And what does it even mean to be over qualified? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm guessing it means, "You cost too much to pay adequately, so instead you'll get nothing."

I get it. Everyone is struggling. Schools are struggling. Businesses. Non-profits. Ministries. Everyone. The money just isn't there to pay out.

But I've been thinking about this. I've developed a special place in my heart for the unemployed graduates. Just think, who are graduates? Most likely, people with lots of ambition and drive. People who, in one capacity or another, have succeeded. People who've become accustomed to a way of life. People who've developed a sense of belonging in society based on their careers and education. And now, for a significant portion of them, that world doesn't exist anymore...
It's been destroyed.

My heart is heavy for them. These people, they may never again see the world they once knew. But that doesn't mean they won't rediscover belonging. And that's what I pray for them the most: belonging. Belonging, where works are the fruit of faith, not a requisite for worth or value.