WHERE IS THE STRUGGLE?

Many of you read my Big Life Changes post last week. I’ve decided to come out of my hiding, step out in faith and move back to New York City, returning to the business I started in over 38 years ago. A business that turns over young girls at a fast rate.

How many of you have spent years waiting for something good to happen? How many of you are so used to disappointment that you look over your shoulder when good things happen, waiting to “duck” life’s circumstances?

My decision to move back to NYC brought some big obstacles and hurdles I’ve had to navigate, but things are going so smoothly, I’m asking myself, “Where is the struggle?” This is a very different experience than what I’m used to. For years I’ve struggled with many things, often begging God to help me. One was selling my house in Florida.

Four years ago our home was on the market 15 months before my husband and I had even one offer, and it was much lower than we expected. While the house was on the market, the economy changed and the house’s value decreased. I felt helpless.

Selling that house was a mental and emotional struggle. Each day, as I scurried to clean it for the next showing, I thought, “Maybe this person wants my house, but where will I move?” Each time, with no buyer interest, it felt like rejection. Why didn’t they love my house the way I do?

Getting ready to move to NYC has been very different. After listing the house I’m renting here in Boulder, the first person who walked in the door rented it. No struggle there. The new lease takes effect in two weeks. Next I took stock of what I had to accomplish in these two weeks, from arranging a moving truck — easy — to deciding what’s imperative for me to have in NYC and what to leave behind or store… a bit harder.

Next I had to make the painful decision to leave my 10-year-old Chocolate Lab with her favorite pet sitter, whom she loves. The pet sitter happened to be looking to adopt a dog, so it fell into place. No struggle there, either.

My last obstacle will be finding the right apartment in NYC. As I sit here and write this — by faith — I know I will find it, and it will all work out.

So each day, I pack by faith, leaving this security nest that has been so healing for me, and trust in a new place that awaits me in the city where I was so successful 35 years ago.

How many of you are struggling with something? When things don’t go our way, it’s a painful lesson in patience. As you’re waiting, and you read or hear that others have had success, it can make things even harder, but take heart, and have courage!