"Twelve Lean Summers - One of Plenty"

We have owned our business for the past twelve years...it has been a miraculous time and a time for growing and learning! When we first began Allen Brother's Cleaning...we paid Newell and Kathy Slade $3000 for 150 clients. We have since grown to over 500 clients and continue to add new customers each year! When you are self-employed...the sky is the limit! You can make as little as you want or as much...however...with window cleaning...there is a catch! You literally have to save for a "rainy" day! Every summer since we have owned the business has been the same...we do really well through June and part of July...and then everything STOPS! The monsoon arrives...and literally scares everybody off...I mean who wants to pay to have their windows cleaned...only to have the dust of a summer storm hammer them? Well, we learned really quickly after the first two summers to save during our times of plenty for the couple of months that we make hardly anything. Even so, summers have always been really tight for us financially...and have not been considered the funnest time of the year. I just took for granted that this is the way it has been...and that it is the way that it will always be. This summer...something happened to me mentally...I watched a video where they mentioned that every thought that we have has a frequency...and that when we focus on something...it sends out that frequency into the universe. If we focus on debt...whether it be getting out of debt or getting into debt..."debt" is all we will attract because it is all that we are thinking about! Instead we should put a financial plan into action...and then concentrate on what we really want...like being financially free! Suddenly, something in my brain came alive...it said that I do not have to accept the circumstances that each "dry" summer brings...but that I can create my own reality. I may not have money coming out of my pockets...but I can choose to rise above the depression and hopelessness that accompanys such "dry" summers. Instead of concentrating on where the money to buy groceries or pay the rent is going to come from...I can let go of those worries...and let the Lord take care of them...just like he always has! My only responsibility is to act on the inspiration that he gives me to take care of those things. I still open the refrigerator and see empty shelves...but instead of getting discouraged...now I close my eyes and picture a refrigerator bursting with good food! I picture the table set with yummy meals and exquisite desserts...I allow my heart and soul to take it all in and feel the feelings as though they are real. Granted, when I open my eyes...the refrigerator is still empty...but my heart is full of hope and promise. Until my desires and wishes come true...I turn to what I do have now...and let my heart concentrate on the gratitude that I have for those things. I have found that no matter what your circumstances or situation...you can always have "plenty" - instead of "little"! I look forward to this summer with great expectations and a heart full of hope...after a long summer of discouragement! ~ Christina