Here I sit in the waiting room of an auto repair shop again after just dropping Joshua off at the ER just a mile down the street. Joshua is having a small procedure done for a set back after his recent surgery. This procedure was necessary to allow him to take an unexpected flight back to GJ for yet another surgical procedure. It is not even half way through the first month of a brand new year and we are facing obstacles and challenges LOL! Wasn't it just two weeks ago we were reflecting on and CELEBRATING the AMAZING year we just had? It is not like we didn't have obstacles and challenges last year...we are always going to have things like this that we get to experience, we simply get to face these challenges and move forward...it is that simple. The magic is in how we react to them!
The other day, Joshua and I were just having a discussion regarding light vs darkness. I expressed to him that I believe both must exist. Without moments of darkness, how do you appreciate the moments of light? Our first year on the road tested our faith in every way possible. How? We experienced financial challenges, bus breakdowns, health issues, jumping into a dream without having a clue about what we were doing or what the next step would be. However, with each opportunity that would challenge us, we became stronger. We chose to learn! We left with the bare minimum needed to live. We learned where to be in certain times of the year. Lessons like, it is way too hot in Yuma, Arizona in April without an AC!! We learned how to create balance in our lives. We can rest AND we also get to move if we want to achieve our dreams! We have also learned that we are surrounded by people that love us, believe in us and want the opportunity to support us, unconditionally <3 With each challenge we face, we have also learned nothing happens by accident. Instead of choosing to stress out, get angry, play the "why me" game, we step back take a breath, look at the whole picture and chose to see all of the GOOD in what is happening! Four years ago January 1, we left our home in Grand Junction, Colorado in pursuit of our dream of living on the road and bringing JOY through music! In this pursuit, we have come to realize, even our worst day on the road isn't nearly as bad as our worst day just existing and going through the motions back home.
Yesterday, we chose to pay for a flight for Joshua to return to GJ next week to have another minor surgery that will promote better healing from the last one. We had just enough money to purchase the plane ticket. Today, we chose to drive an hour and a half away to a highly rated ER to take care of an issue that was causing an extreme amount of pain for Joshua, so he could make the trip next week without pain. After dropping him off I decided to run to the store just down the road. When the brakes went all the way to the floor, my first thought was...of course, why not now?!?! After I parked the van, I jumped out and saw a puddle of brake fluid under the drivers side and knew this was not going to be something I could safely solve on my own. I took a deep breath, went into the store to get what I needed and came back out to make a plan for a solution. I looked at the map on my GPS, saw that a brake shop was literally just across the street from where I was. I decided I would take the chance to drive it that far to get the necessary repairs done. They got it right in, all while Joshua was waiting to be seen at the ER. The estimate came back at $435 for the minimum repairs needed to get us back on the road. I was about $200 short of making that payment. I reached out to my friends just to share where we were and to ask for prayer support. Through that request came the solution and for that I am soooooo grateful! While I was here, I met a fellow musician turned music producer. I always say I never meet anyone by accident and I may not ever know why we needed to meet and today of all days. One thing I did notice, we need this vehicle to get Joshua back and forth to his flight this next week. If this brake issue would have happened while we were on South Padre Island, we would not have the option of repairing it without extensive towing costs on top of finding a shop nearby that would be capable of doing the repairs. Just one more reason to be grateful it happened today! Proof again that the universe is conspiring with us!!! Another thing I have noticed, whenever we have a BIG breakthrough coming for us, we tend to experience lots of obstacles, high energy challenges. When these things happen, I have become very aware there is GREATNESS just waiting on the other side of the challenges we experience and for that I AM SO GREATFUL!!!
I have always said "Everything happens for a reason" and my belief has grown and continues to grow stronger than ever!!!