Life is hard. Life is unpredictable. And sooner or later, everyone hits a roadblock they weren’t expecting that makes everything go up in the air.
Maybe it’s a car accident that leaves you unable to go to work. Maybe it’s the erosion of a marriage that just didn’t work out. Maybe it’s a diagnosis of cancer that changes everything.
As I’ve spent the past five months working with home sellers in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, I’ve come across all kinds of situations. People have wanted to sell their homes quickly and for cash to me for a number of reasons – they’ve relocated and no longer want the house. They think their current house is scary (no joke). In some instances, the house has been run down and they want a fresh start. In one situation, a family member was in prison, and the family was trying to liquidate his assets. In another situation, the house had been on the MLS for months and hadn’t sold while the daughter was trying to move closer to her sick father. I’ve been approached by landlords who are simply tired of owning rental properties and would like to sell. And, I’ve seen mothers who want to get their children into another school district.
What do all of these situations have in common? Life has brought some unfortunate situation and the home owner has to decide what to do next.
As I thought about this common denominator this morning, I can’t help but reflect on my own life and experiences. I feel blessed to have a house that my wife and I basically call the house of our dreams. At the same time, we experience trials just like everyone else. We’ve been pregnant with our 4th baby that may be induced this week and the pregnancy has been what has felt like our longest and definitely the most difficult.
So, when life gets hard, what do you do? Keep moving forward.
Every Friday night, my family takes a break. As Christians, we have come to love and appreciate the Sabbath that God gave as a gift to mankind. So, every Friday night, we shut it down for a day and rest.
Usually, after a nice meal, my boys really want to watch a movie. This week, we watched the Disney movie Meet The Robinsons, which I hadn’t watched in several years.
This is one of Disney’s stronger movies, though it never got a lot of attention. It has some oddities and quirks for sure, but the message is fantastic. The main message in the movie is that when life gets hard and even when you fail, you should keep moving forward. Here’s a clip:
I love how the family in this movie celebrates failure. Why? Because you LEARN from failures, but you don’t learn from successes. What a great attitude!
One thing I’ve noticed in the last few months as I’ve met with a variety of homeowners who have encountered difficult situations, is that my heart goes out to them. Sure, we are in a negotiation and often times, the numbers won’t make sense for everyone to be happy, but keep finding myself with my heart going out to these different neighbors in my Cincy community.
I want to just keep saying to them, Keep Moving Forward!
If you find yourself in a difficult situation and need to sell your house, it may feel like a step backwards, but at the same time, life is amazing. A new opportunity may await for you just around the corner. I was encouraged my this move as I’ve certainly met my fair share of failures, and I’m inspired to keep working hard, treating people with respect and serving my family. I hope you do the same!