All Sales Are Final?

This week has been a very interesting and emotionally exhausting week. On Monday, Wade’s dad went to the emergency room while on vacation because of a suspected heart attack and blood clots in his lungs. He is home resting and recuperating now. There are a LOT of life lessons that we have all taken away from this week. One of those is just how short and precious and fragile life really is. Another is about the culture in which men have been conditioned to be the “strong ones” who have to hold everything together when it would be fine and acceptable to fall apart. Even in our house where we have preached feelings and emotions and expression I have a couple of sons who thought they needed to be the strong ones for their dad as he dealt with the reality of what was happening with his dad. And maybe sometime soon, I will write about some of these things. But, as trying as this week was as a family, it was also a good week, for me personally. I saw a few pounds come off the scale number. I made good choices, most of the time, regarding the food I was eating. I do need to be moving more even still. These short walks I am settling for are not cutting it. But, one of the most exciting things to happen in quite a while is an unexpected employment opportunity. Now, I am still with NEWYOU and working my business and helping people with their health and wellness. I will still be doing that. But I really could use a supplement to our income. If you remember, I have a child in college. And in case y’all didn’t know, that ain’t cheap! It isn’t inexpensive in any way! This new opportunity would still allow me to work from home, still set my own schedule, and still allow me to work my NEWYOU CBD business to continue helping others! That, to me, is a win-win-win! I have missed outside employment. I have missed talking to people. I am a people-person to the highest degree. I talk. A LOT. I love to exchange ideas and thoughts and conversations with folks who like to do the same. I will keep you updated as this week unfolds. I know the competition for this opportunity is pretty stout, but if it is what God has in store for me, then that’s where I will end up! Prayers and good thoughts are appreciated. This week had me thinking a lot about the different decisions we make and how they impact every aspect of our life. 

Thirteen years ago, in 2008, I was a stay-at-home-mom to a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old . . . two boys. My sister, Carly, was working in a dental office but knew she was going to be leaving soon. At the time, I wasn’t looking for employment. In fact, the owners of that office had offered me the position Carly was going to be vacating and I politely declined. They offered again after hiring someone who wasn’t a good fit. And again, I declined. Then, once more, when another long-time employee was going to be leaving, they offered again. I finally said yes. Wade and I made the decision that an extra income would be helpful to our growing and increasingly expensive family. Because of that decision, I worked in the dental field for 12 years, growing with the position and becoming more polished in some very valuable skills. I will be ever grateful for the opportunity I was handed and just as thankful that I finally made the decision to say yes! However, last year, when Covid hit the nation and shut things down, I needed to make a decision once again. One of our sons really struggled with the shut downs. And when looking at the little rural areas of Northeastern Colorado we watched many children, yes children, take their own lives because of the depression and hopelessness they felt. We were afraid that something like that could happen with our son and we concluded that one of us should make a decision to come home and be here for him when he needed us most. That person was me. It was the easiest decision to make for me because there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for my kids. I also made the decision to come home for ME. I had been in a rough spot mentally and emotionally and the stress of the position I was in was really affecting me. The benefits of stepping out of that career have far outweighed any negative effects that have come. But, it all came down to decisions. 

My mentor in my CBD business has said many times that people can make the wrong decision on something and then spend the rest of their lives defending it instead of making a different decision. They treat that decision like all sales are final. No take-backs, no refunds, and no exchanges. I have said for years that life is nothing more than a series of rooms. We spend our whole life surrounded by four walls. Of course, the people inside those four walls vary based on what rooms we are in and sometimes, we are in a room all alone. But the decisions we make determine what rooms we end up in. Think back on the rooms in your life. There are so many! I remember rooms where joy and love and laughter burst out through any crack they could find. I remember the rooms I was in when I became a mom to my first born son. . . and again to my youngest son. I remember the room I was in when we said goodbye to loved ones. I remember the room I was in when I married Wade. I remember rooms where the walls and ceiling and floor all ran together because of the tears of pain and grief in my eyes. I think we are defined by how we handle events that happen in those rooms. 

It is never too late to make a different decision. I made the decision to leave a great job last year because I knew it was what was best for me and for my family at the time. I made the decision and when I did, I thought, well, that’s it . . . almost like I would never want to or have to make a different decision about it ever again. But God has His plans for us and they aren’t revealed to us in full (sometimes not even in part) until He is ready for us to glimpse what He has for our lives. But the lesson here is that NO DECISION IS EVER FINAL when it comes to our lives. Things change. They grow or they deteriorate depending on the situation. But they change. And through those changes I have realized that I am ready for more. More interaction with others than what I am having right now. I feel that the last year has healed me in miraculous ways . . . ways I NEVER could have imagined if I were still working 40 hours a week outside the home. I have had the time and the energy to put into myself to heal hurts that have been in my life for what seems like an impossibly long time. Thankfully, this new opportunity would still allow some of that to happen! And I am so thankful for that. I made it through the first round of interviews into the second round and have made the decision that if this position is offered to me, I will gladly step into it! A different decision . . . and I am hopeful!

The older I get the more I realize just how temporary everything on this earth is. Seasons, years, time, health, family . . . all of it fleeting. Our decisions are made where we are and with the best information we have available at the time. But over time, things are revealed that help us understand better than we did before and there is absolutely nothing wrong with making a different decision based on new and updated information when the situation calls for it. I would rather make a different decision than stay stuck in a rut defending the decision I initially made just because I am stubborn. And you know what a rut is, right? The best definition I have ever heard for the word “rut” is this: A grave with both ends kicked out. Ruts can be fatal. So whatever it is . . . healthful eating, weight loss, fitness, your job/career, your schooling, your house, your car, or your personal finances, if it isn’t serving you and ultimately leading you to your best, it’s not too late to make a different decision. And know that you have the support of family and friends who will stand beside and behind and under and in front of you to help you in any way they can. Remember, those who would judge you for changing your mind aren’t worth your worry. Those who love you will support you in whatever it is that will make you happy and feel your best. Those people are YOUR people. They are the only ones who matter and the only ones who are allowed to have an opinion when it comes to you and your new decision. Remember, you are worth whatever it takes to be happy and healthy!

#loveyourjourney #youreworthit #bettermewithNewYouCBD #Endo30 #itsuptoyou