Through the Good and Bad, Trust Your Journey
By: Jessica Fatih. Published November 1, 2022
Almost daily, I walk past a house that is in a massive remodel. The roof is off, the entire house is gutted down to the studs, and you can see straight through the house to the other side. There is a beautiful decorative octogen-shaped dome which I believe is called a cupola, that seems to be saved and hopefully put back on the house when it is finished. Seeing a remodel this significant is surprising; most of the house is sitting in the dumpster. The owners are recreating but not starting from the ground up.
Today when I walked past it, it hit me why I am so fascinated by this particular remodel. They didn’t knock the whole thing down; they kept the foundation. It was more symbolic today on my walk. Symbolic of life.
How many times have I made significant changes in my life? Well, lots: going to college, traveling abroad in college, going back to college for another degree, getting married, getting divorced, going to graduate school, getting married, having a child, becoming a stay-at-home mom, having another child, and another child, beginning my healing journey and starting to write (publicly). That’s me in a nutshell.
Most things on that list would be additions to the house (metaphorically speaking, if the place we are talking about is me). Right? I mean, most things on that list don’t break you down. Most build another layer, a bonus room. A few on that list have been like lighting a stick of dynamite in the house, blowing it up, and needing to start again—divorce, for one. Ugh, you know exactly what I am talking about for anyone who has been through a divorce. It is a holy shit moment when you realize everything you hoped and dreamed about now will look incredibly different. The aftermath of divorce is a rebuilding time and a time to make the blueprints anew and start fresh.
Okay, I'm surprised at all my building references today. I guess it’s in my blood. So yesterday, I walked past the house and took a photo of it for this blog, and a song came on, “Long Way Home” by Brett Young. These are the lyrics that tied my fascination with this house together:
Everybody’s got a story, everybody’s been hurt
Everybody got scars and broken hearts they don’t deserve…
You’re never really lost if you never stop looking
You gotta keep moving if your heart’s on fire
Love is gonna find a way to you wherever you go
When clouds get dark and you can’t see nothing
Sun still shines on the other side
Everybody gets to heaven on a broken road
Some of us gotta take the long way home, ooh, ooh
It hit me that we are all on our journey in life. Each of us has our own story. There are aspects of our life we proudly display and others we keep hidden, but no matter what that journey looks like, it is YOURS. All the good, indifferent, and bad. Build, remodel, light it up with dynamite, leaving the roof off for a while; save that distinctive little cupola to put back on your new remodel, but most important in your heart is your foundation.
You always get to build on your solid foundation of you. We are all on our journey. Your journey is the unique road that you are meant to be on. Somedays, when we think nothing is going right, guess what? That is where you are supposed to be because it leads to the next part of your journey. Your long road home.
Hi, I’m Jessica Faith
I’d love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts below.