The Ups and Downs

Sometimes, it's a long way down.

I never expected my business to take the turns it has.  Its growth in the first eight months of its life has been amazing and beyond my expectations.  It is touching more people, as evidenced by feedback from people reading the Minimize series and the Manual.  More and more seeds are being planted in fertile hearts.  It is wonderful to see.

The coaching of others in decluttering has been an outstanding experience.  It is all joy to see an "ah-ha" moment light the faces of my clients.  I rejoice when they graduate, and can tell me with confidence that they have "got it" from this point going forward.

Counseling clients on budgeting and watching them realize that they can take control of their finances, and in less time than they thought possible, has been heartwarming.  Seeing the face of one woman light up when she realized her net worth would see her through a loss of income was reassuring to me, as well as her, that this is important work.

However, I did not anticipate the valley that came with becoming for-profit.  I felt like I was divided into two kingdoms - Christ's, and the world system.  Serve God or money?  The answer is intellectually crystal clear.  In practicality - not so much.

I felt free when I decided I would focus on giving my services.  The first client after I decided to not insist on payment was a resident of a nursing home.  There was no way she could pay me for organizing her important papers.  It was a huge blessing to me to be able to help someone that could not reimburse me.

I cherish the idea of a gift economy.  As far as I have thought it out, there is no concept of debt in nature. This is the approach I take with Simple Fly Life.  I give freely.  If someone wishes to give back, that is fine, but it is not required in order for my time and energy to be given.

With gifting, there is a decidedly pronounced possibility that nothing will be reciprocated.  This is a chance I am willing to take to serve in the fashion that I feel is most fitting for my business under the leadership of Christ.  Gifting makes my income extremely unpredictable.

But, God is good.  Simple Fly Life has had generous clients and the work is able to continue.  More clients are being added as time goes on, and more graduates are being produced.  I am not afraid of my counter-cultural approach to the business model.  I am afraid of what I would become in my own mind if I adopted revenue as the measure of my success.

Things are looking up for Simple Fly Life.  Thank you to all who prayed for me as I wrestled with bringing my business under the lordship of Jesus Christ.