Mount Airy Massage and Wellness sprouted out of no where it seems. Just over two months ago, I, as a co-owner of Infinity Day Spa, was at a precipice in my then business, Infinity Day Spa. After 6 and a half years of existence, the business was no longer paying for itself. At the same time, my business partner and I had reached different places and priorities in life and business. These facts led to the painful decision to close the doors on the spa.
Both of us initially decided to strike out on our own to do our individual services. As I searched for a place to relocate my massage practice, everything I looked at didn't seem to fit my intention. One night I finally turned it over to God to guide me to "the next place". I never expected to wake to his plan.
As is usually the case, God didn't have a specific plan for me. He just woke me to four different people on my heart. One was the man that owns the building the spa is locate in. My partner had been in the building for the last 11 years or so through three different spas. We were going to be leaving him without a renter. Our receptionist was the only one out of the four of us working for the spa that didn't have a "next gig". I felt badly that we were leaving her unemployed. My own massage therapist was having to leave massage and return to her primary profession of nursing for financial reasons. She loves massage and her plight broke my heart. And finally, there is a girl that makes the most awesome cookies who wants to do it full time, but isn't quite ready financially.
I didn't understand why all of these people were what God wanted me to focus on when I simply asked for a place to go. After talking through it with my husband, I realized God was laughing at my plan, and showing me a different direction. It took a few days to figure out, and actually it continues to evolve with each passing day, but I've finally 'Let go, and Let God!". His plans always work out better than mine, anyway.
Initially the best I could figure out what he wanted me to do was to give wings to these people that I woke to. At first I thought I was supposed to create two separate businesses - massage and cookies. But after talking with the cookie girl, she wasn't quite ready. Because of a full time job she had already accepted, my massage therapist wasn't available either. And our receptionist decided to take the opportunity to retire as a result of our closing. Needless to say, I was getting a little worried that I had misread his plan.
Of the four people that I woke up to that day, that left only one - the owner of the building. I'll explain more on that later. But as the days wore on, he kept making his plan more and more apparent. People and events kept coming into my path and I was doing my best to keep my eyes and heart open to them. I'm a giver/doer and I felt he was calling me to service yet again. But I'm jumping ahead, so let me back track a bit.
Ten years ago, my oldest daughter went off to college. I decided I didn't want to raise our second daughter in the city anymore. Through divine intervention, I realized I wasn't being the best person that I could be. My corporate job was sucking the life out of me, and in turn, I was sucking the life out of everyone around me. I was a technology project manager with Bank of America and "i" dotting and "t" crossing was my thing, so much to the point that everything in life was scheduled. I decided something had to be done, and as is usually the case, I got busy doing it!
One thing led to another, and I decided I wanted to get back to the mountain life that my husband and I had been raised in. We owned a cabin in the woods off the BlueRidge Parkway in the mountains of VA. It was the perfect place to relocate to. I knew I'd need a new career, as I didn't think the Bank would let me work from there. I had to do some soul searching to figure out what my personality type was best suited for, but finally struck upon massage and yoga. I went to school for both while still working full time. My family was in shock at all the changing I was doing that would in turn impact them, both positively and negatively.
While I was starting the process of letting go of the reins, I was still a control freak and battling with God pretty much at every juncture. It's a good thing he has patience. I'm a pretty hard headed person (or so my husband tells me). But I'm still in pursuit of a Type B personality, even though my oldest daughter tells me I'll never get there. She says I'm just going to have to settle for Type A-.
I completely realized how lucky I was to be able to walk away from a job that paid me extremely well. I had worked hard to attend college as a newlywed with a baby. We had set ourselves behind the 8 ball as kids getting married so young. But through perseverance and hard work, we prevailed. A part of me felt that if I walked away from what I had worked so hard to achieve, I'd seem ungrateful. But I knew that in order to survive for both myself and my family, I had to. And thank goodness I did! We have been richly rewarded for the sacrifices we've made through the years since.
God's message to me that morning when I woke was that I was doing a disservice to him by even thinking about being selfish and going off on my own after all he had blessed me with. That was especially true when there were people I knew that needed help. Even though most of the original people on my heart that morning are not part of this initial business plan, God has since placed other people in my path that need help, too. And I have a feeling a couple of the original four will fall back into the fold eventually. Every time I doubt, he gives me another piece of the puzzle. I've resigned myself to blindly follow and trust in his will.
One of the most difficult decisions related to the new business was choosing to stay in the same building, as I knew it would cause hard feelings with my business partner. We both love the place and had done considerable work on it in starting the spa. But none of the other places I looked at worked based on what I was wanting to offer. And it was sad to think that both of us would walk away from this place when one of us had the opportunity to continue to share its charm and beauty. The building itself is a source of healing and good will. While it was a difficult discussion, I think in the end, it all worked out okay.
Also, as I begin this journey into this new business, I realize it is not just my journey. The people God has sent have unique gifts all their own. He is just asking me to provide the foundation they need to share it. With my years of experience in the business world, my ownership experience in the two days spas, and the networks I have built with clients and practitioners in this community are all part of his blessings for me to share.
And that's just from the practitioner's perspective. The clients that we'll be serving are also going to benefit tremendously! Some of the services and products we'll be offering are unique and not widely known about in this area. Our true purpose is to educate the community on natural and holistic ways of achieving better health. From there, they can choose to use the services we'll offer as part of their tool bag in managing their wellness.
I hope you'll take an opportunity to explore our new business in some capacity, even if you just want to come by to see the facility and the changes we've made. Mount Airy Massage & Wellness is your home, as well as ours. You're invited any time. We hope 2015 will be good to all of us as we pursue our best selves!!
~ Machelle
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