Navigating the Hard Days.

I am moving. Geesh! There, I finally said it in an official kind of way.

And I don’t mean moving my blog address or moving down the street. I mean moving 865 miles from Phoenix, Arizona to Denver, Colorado. (Anyone need a house in Phoenix?)

EVERYONE has assured me that I will LOVE Denver and thanks to the Allume Community I have been welcomed and connected to what seem like amazing people in the Denver area but the reality is my heart is happy and content  in Phoenix where I have resided and built a life for the last 17 years. I don’t have one complaint about where I live. YEP! You won’t even hear me complain about the 122 degree summers because I am from Texas and if you have known 99% humidity with 100 degree heat then 122 with no humidity is nothing! The phrase “It is a dry heat.” is real, people!

So why move you ask? For at least 8 months my husband and I, along with a community of people, have been praying for an open door to a job where my husband would feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment in what he does. And that door opened…it just happens to be a door located in Denver. (We failed to mention in our request that the door was supposed to be in Phoenix. I kinda just assumed God knew. Lesson learned!)

We feel confirmed that this is the door to walk through but that doesn’t mean it is not hard to leave behind a group of girlfriends that know me inside and out, pull my kids away from two sets of grandparents , walk away from the small group we lead that was just building momentum. It doesn’t means it’s not hard to think about finding a new church when we have one that is “just right” for us. Oh, and don’t get me started on finding a new school for my kiddos. Figuring out Kindergarten last year felt painful enough. The thought of doing that all over again feels like being forced to eat liver and onions or swimming with sharks. Then you throw in selling and packing up my house that brings me comfort and joy and I just about teeter over the edge…STOP THE MADDNESS! I have cried more in the last 25 days than in all of 2014 I would guess.

In the tears my husband always reminds me that we don’t have to do this. He assures me that he is willing to stop packing boxes and begin looking for a job in Phoenix. Every time I say… just because it is hard now doesn’t mean it is not going to be good.

Hard today does not mean there won’t be good tomorrow. 

What is your “hard now” thing?

I am thankful for the biblical examples that goes before me. People who have taken “hard” and found the good; Jochebed releasing Moses, Ruth choosing Naomi, Rahab throwing the rope, Joseph accepting Mary and the ultimate in Jesus bearing the weight of our sin. Without the Mighty One God and His perspective on this transition I would be an utter train wreck of a girl right now. But as the sun rises and sets I am reminded of His power.

Getting to the land of good is going to mean navigating the hard days well.

For me it is a move. What is it for you?

• A marriage that feels hard?
• Kids that feels hard?
• A job that feels hard?
• A financial situation that feels hard?

How are you going to navigate the hard days well so that you can see the good?

I have created three non-negotiables for my transition.

1. Choose Scripture

No matter what mood I wake up in or what seems to be going wrong my day STARTS with scripture. It may come from a devotional book, something someone sends me via text or from a Bible reading plan but it is my priority that keeps me grounded in truth and helps me to distinguish between feelings and reality.

2. Maintain Clear Focus

Because I have a variety of balls that I am juggling between parenting, coaching, retreat leading, Allume & MOVING it can be easy for me to get distracted by the variety of to-do’s. To maintain my focus I keep a slew of Christian music playing at all times depending on if I am with my kids, making dinner or working. It is hard to go off the deep end with my kids when I have “Boom Chaka Laka” playing in the background. I also work off a to-do list that contains ONLY 5 things. Once I finish those 5 things then I add more. This simply helps me not get overwhelmed by a running list of 50-100 things. (Download printable to-do list here)

3. Ask for Help

I consider myself a highly capable person who can handle a fair amount of stress but I am about to embark on the task of single parenting while my husband heads to his new job and we wait for the house to sell. I am not going to pretend to be excited about this. I am dreading this! I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will not be able to maintain my sanity if I don’t ask for help. I will need to crash a family member’s house for dinner, plan extra play dates so I can have adult interaction or even grant the kids a bit of extra screen time so I can finish up some work.

There are hard days ahead but I know if I intentionally commit to these three things there will be good in the midst of hard. I choose to trust in the land of good that is to come because I know He cares for me. What about you? What non-negotiables will you choose?  How can we be praying for your hard days?

P.S. – Allume Conference tickets go on sale Sunday, March 1st at 8:00 a.m. EST. The first 50 tickets get the early bird discount. Set a reminder on your phone today!