Moving Day

Moving Day

Have you ever had to move?  New job? New city? New friends? New life?

The very thought of “moving” anything in our daily routines to which we’ve become accustomed…comfortable, in-control, and satisfied…is stressful. 

For “moving” suggests change, and change is scary.  Why?  Because with change comes many unknowns.

The very definition of the word move is:

1.   move/mo͞ov/

Verb:	Go in a specified direction or manner; change position.

Operative word - change.

Change, unknowns, and fear...  It’s no different than a child, when they’re scared of the dark, the roller coaster, the storm, or the first day of school.  They’re scared, because of the change.  Something different is before them, and they’ve never had to deal with it before.  It’s unknown.

When children are scared, what do we do?  We comfort them.  We guide them.  We direct them. We care for them.  We love them.  Maybe not at first, but once they let go of their own fear of these unknowns, and let us take over…they calm down.  They stop crying.  They stop worrying.  Their fear subsides because they know they’re protected.  They’re safe.

Whatever unknowns exist for you and me, today; whether our moving day consists of changing jobs, changing cities, changing career goals, changing relationship dynamics with loved ones, or changing anything at all…we should let go.  Let go and let a higher power take over.  If not the same God I love and serve, then let go and put your faith, trust, and hope into something bigger, something more powerful, something better…to take the reins.  You and I simply can’t do it alone. 

For me, it’s in fact not a ‘something’, it’s a person.  I’m a Christian; a Christ follower and a believer, and He saves me and comforts me and guides me and I know and believe that “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

For you, it may be another religion or another belief system that guides you.  Believe in it.  Focus on it.  And let it truly be your guide.

The message is that no matter what we face in our lives – and we’re all facing something…everybody has stuff – we can’t do it alone.  We can’t figure it out by ourselves.  We can’t possibly know every move to make and when and how and why…we must let go and let a higher power take over. 

When we do…when we let go and let God…when we give up the need for control and this paralyzing need to magically know all the unknowns…we’ll be ever so blessed with the grace, comfort, guidance, and unconditional love of something greater…something better, in our lives.

And when we do…that will be a very, very moving day.  It doesn’t have to be someday down the road either…it can be today.  Today can be the day…every day can be a moving day, if we trust and let go.   2 Corinthians 5:7 – “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

One for the road…

This week two of my very best friends, Matt Olsen and Sonny Ritacca are in fact, moving. 

Matt is moving back to Florida, to Jacksonville, having recently been promoted at work.  Sonny is moving into a new house that he recently purchased in Southern California (obviously also doing very well, at work).  Both are facing so many unknowns.  They’re nervous.  They’re worried.  They’re moving…and their lives are changing.

I’m so proud of them both.  This will not be the first “move” for either of them.  In fact, if our group of closely-knit friends has become experts in anything in recent years, it’s certainly moving.

Matt moved from Orlando to California, back to Orlando, then to Atlanta, then back to Orlando, then to Fayetteville, North Carolina…now back to Jacksonville, FL. 

Sonny moved from Chicago to Orlando, then to Tampa, then back to Chicago, changed jobs twice, pursued and earned an MBA at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business, then moved to California, and now will move yet again into his new home. 

Things haven’t always gone their way.  Situations haven’t always been perfect.  They each just kept pursuing something better…they each kept focusing on getting better…they each pressed on, making other people around them better…including me. 

People often ask me how in the world I’m best friends with people that are so different than me.  I see what they see, on the surface, in passing…however, I laugh to myself every time.  I know that on the inside, deep down, that our relationship and friendship is anchored in love, respect, and care for each other. 

When we all met on internships at Walt Disney World, it was about having fun, yet remaining focused and steadfast in pursuing our dreams…and enjoying our time, together.  Today, it’s funny…because it’s still about having fun and pursuing our dreams…and we’re still connected by the love, respect, and care for each other. 

When I first met Sonny’s dad, we spent the weekend hanging out with the Ritacca family.  On the day he left town, Mr. Ritacca shook my hand, gave me a hug, and said, “take care of each other”. That was in the Fall of 2001.  I’ve visited with him several times since then, and he always says the exact same thing as we part ways at the end of a trip.

Sonny’s dad should be proud, because here we are…12 years later, still taking care of each other.  And it’s usually Sonny that makes the first move…(every morning at 5-something AM…yes…every morning, I get a “good morning” text from Sonny.)  In his dialogue with me, more often than not, he shares a quick story or two about what he's doing to take care of his team, his leaders, and/or his company.  He certainly has many blessings in his life, yet he continues to be a blessing to others.  That's moving.

A couple of years ago both Matt and I were having a rough time finding a job…like many Americans, in 2009 & 2010, we endured several months of unemployment, yet we're in a much better place now.  At the time, Matt was gracious enough to invite me to move back in with him, in his house in Orlando while we both looked for jobs…(and played golf, went to the pool, then played wii golf in his living room…it wasn’t all that bad, looking back on it.)  Matt was blessed to have a nice home in a great place, and though things in his own life were rocky, he was a true blessing to me during that time in my life.  That's moving.

It was then that every Sunday after church I started tweeting him, “If God is for us, who could be against us.” – Romans 8:31.  Neither of us had a clue as to how or when we would find work…when we realized it wasn’t up to us, but instead it was up to someone else, we both had moving days…

Eventually I got a job…and he got a job.  We both moved.  And we were moved in the process…to this day, not a Sunday goes by that I don’t send Matt that same verse that moved us then and continues to move us today.

I tell these stories because I’ve watched and stood by my two dear friends, Matt & Sonny, when they were up, high on life…and when they’ve been down, navigating the inevitable valleys in their lives.  And they’ve been right there for me, every step of the way as well.  I’ve noticed a couple things about the moves they’ve made in their lives. 

The first thing is that their success is always preceded by their relentless focus on other people…

…for Matt, it’s his diligence in serving his leaders and his clients, pursuing excellence in how he caters to their every need, in his role as the Director of Licensing for an apparel company.  For Sonny, it’s his devotion and compassion for the members of his team, and his ability to serve them, lead them, and develop them…as he heads up the Sales efforts on the west coast for his company.

The second thing is that they both recognize and appreciate the blessings in their lives…and they leverage them to turn around and bless others…

…that is moving…

Good luck to Matt & Sonny as they move this week…I’m proud of your success, but I’m mostly proud of how you use your blessings to continue to bless others, including yours truly.  I know you'll be a blessing to those in your new communities.

Thanks for allowing the OneMoreStepRevolution Team to use your moving day to hopefully inspire someone else’s.

Have a great day.

Taylor

OneMoreStep video, for fun...

Two years ago, to the day, when I moved from Orlando to back to Las Vegas, finally finding a job...Matt rode/drove across the country with me, in a U-Haul with the Black Pearl (my car) on a trailer hitched to the back of the truck.

We made it to Scottsdale, got lost, and had a little fun as usual: