On May 27, 2008, I quit practicing law.
It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but was also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
After years of all-nighters, missing date nights with my husband, crying in the restroom at the office, wrecking holidays with my family to get out a contract, and once even spending my first 2 hours in Maui at Kinkos working, it was clear that the lifestyle was not for me. But even more than that, being a lawyer was not my calling, and I knew it. I had untapped creative potential that I’d been suppressing, because being a lawyer made no time for it.
However, turning my back on the profession was much easier said than done. With my identity so wrapped up in being a lawyer, I felt like quitting was admitting failure. Plus, we had a mortgage to pay, and a lifestyle we wanted to maintain. But after considering those concerns as justifications for continuing on in a profession that made me unhappy, they fell away.
So I made a collage of what I wanted my life to look like in 5 years. In my future, I could work out in the morning, own a creative business on my own terms, wear what I wanted to wear, make time for people and things I love, grow my family, and have a richer, more meaningful life.
I made the collage on March 17, 2008, and now – just over 4 years later – the life I had contemplated in my collage looks very familiar.
Seeing how my dreams evolved from a child’s art project into reality, reminds me how important it is to dream… and how important it is to visualize, hope and pray for your dreams. And to remember to thank the Man Upstairs when they come true.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Dream on!
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