I originally wrote this post two years ago after going through the process of laying off the entire staff of the hotel I once managed in 2020, After I completed that task, I laid myself off as well.

It hurt.

I’ve had a lot of time to process this and I have a few thoughts. I think it’s important that we also take the time to recognize that in some circumstances, defeat is inevitable and we need to reckon with it. You can be a great leader and still lose. As a person of faith, this memory is appropriate on Good Friday. I hope it is for you as well.

We like to post pictures of good moments. Joy is an emotion worth sharing. Celebrating your wins, feelings, gratitude, and happiness are not necessarily evidence of narcissism gone wild. If you are enjoying a victory, I'm genuinely happy for you. I know that "The Victors write history," but I felt like this defeat needed to be shown in a photo. The photo is me outside my office, in a now very empty hotel hours after I closed it.

Do you know that part in the movie where something happens at the last moment to give the story a happy ending? That didn't happen for my team and me. We didn't win.

Perhaps appropriate for Good Friday? A humiliating unavoidable defeat. The dream died. How does Christianity stand out from the rest? It's a faith that records and identifies with loss. It doesn't ask to ignore it, pretend it didn't happen, or try to re-write history.

There's a great deal that can be shared about the theological implication of Jesus on the cross. However, in recent years, the cross has been a compass for me. If you're trying to find Jesus, look for pain, suffering, and injustice. You'll likely find him there identifying with it.

So if you're like me and you lost. Good Friday is about remembering that there is one who would say to you today, "I'm with you."

Friend, thank you for reading. On your worst day, please remember, you are not alone.