Trusting The Process When Things Don’t Go To (Your) Plan
A real-life glimpse into walking the intuitive path, through life’s unexpected turns.
Welcome, Soul-Seeker 💜 I’m Jen - the heart behind Hearth & Tide, a sacred space devoted to reflection, intuition, and inspired living. This is where inner wisdom meets real life. Whether you’re in a season of change, seeking deeper clarity, or simply learning to trust your path more fully, I’m here to offer guidance rooted in intention, insight, and soul.
We thought we had found it. Our new home.
The one that felt like a match on many levels.
The layout, the light, the location 🪴 it all aligned with the vision we’ve been holding steadily for years.
There were signs. Little nudges from the universe (read all about it here or via the link below).
The kind of synchronicities that make you say, “Yes, this is it!”
And then, it wasn’t.
Without going into all the details, I’ll just say this: things didn’t go as planned.
What seemed like a clear yes became a firm no. An unexpected reveal during the home inspection shifted everything, and suddenly, what felt like solid ground was no longer steady (literally & figuratively).
And it hasn’t just been this one moment.
There have been other near-misses, decisions we had to walk away from, and paths that felt promising, until they weren’t. All in one week.
Each time, we’ve done our best to stay open, to listen, to trust. But the stops and starts have been exhausting. And yet… they’ve also been clarifying.
This season of change, transition, and timing, has tested every ounce of my patience, trust, and ability to stay rooted in what I know even when I don’t know what’s coming.
I’m sharing this for anyone else walking the intuitive path, following the quiet pull of their heart, and doing their best to trust what’s unfolding, even when it doesn’t make sense yet.
Because this is what it really looks like sometimes!
Messy. Uncertain. Wobbly.
And you’re not alone. 🙏
It’s easy to trust the process when everything is falling into place.
It’s much harder when it feels like it’s falling apart.
Holding the Contradictions
What do we do when we’ve followed the breadcrumbs, listened to our intuition, stayed open, and it still doesn’t unfold the way we hoped?
This has been the heart of my reflection lately. Because this isn’t just about a home. It’s about a bigger vision, a life we are building with intention. And when something aligned slips away, it’s disorienting. And stirs up quiet questioning:
Was that still the right path?
Did I misread the signs?
Or is this just a temporary detour?
The truth is, we don’t always get clear answers in the moment.
Just because something doesn’t unfold the way we thought it would doesn’t mean we were wrong. It just means the story is still being written.
✨ Following the signs.
✨ Paying attention to the energy, the pull, the clarity.
✨ Everything seemed to affirm this direction.
And still, it didn’t work out the way I thought.
Sound familiar?
At first, it’s confusing. Frustrating. Even painful. When you’ve done the work to strengthen your connection with your inner voice, it can feel jarring when the outer world doesn’t reflect that same clarity.
But this is what is important to know:
Sometimes the signs don’t point to the thing. They point to the next thing.
They guide us forward - not to the final destination, but to a moment that brings clarity, growth, or information we didn’t have before.
In this case, maybe we needed to feel what alignment looked like.
To clarify what matters most.
To learn what we’re willing to walk away from.
To refine our vision, again, through experience, not just thought.
That breadcrumb trail we followed wasn’t wrong. It just isn’t complete yet.
This is the dance of intuition:
You listen. You move. You stay open.
And sometimes, you get rerouted, not because you failed, but because something better, truer, more aligned is still unfolding ✨
What Grounds Me
In the midst of this unraveling, I’ve leaned deeply into the practices that keep me rooted. Not in outcomes, but in presence:
My Journaling Practice: Checking in with myself regularly through writing. What’s rising emotionally? What feels clear? What needs to be released? These small acts of reflection help me navigate the inner chaos.
Reflecting With Oracle & Tarot: Drawing cards to listen inward. What am I being shown? What energy is asking for attention?
Reconnecting With The Vision & How I Want To Feel: Letting go of the how and when. Returning to the essence behind the intention.
Getting Into Nature As Often As Possible: Walking in the trees, grounding my feet in the earth, breathing in fresh air. Nature always reminds me that growth is happening, even when it’s not yet visible.
If You’re Here Too
If you’re in a season where things feel up in the air, where clarity slips through your fingers just when you thought you had it, know that you’re not alone.
These in-between spaces are some of the hardest to sit with. But they are also the most fertile.
This is where our resilience strengthens.
This is where our trust deepens.
This is where we remember: the path is unfolding, even when we can’t yet see around the bend.
Keep listening.
Keep rooting.
Keep showing up to your life, even when it feels uncertain.
The unfolding is happening. Even now.
Have you ever followed the signs, only to end up somewhere unexpected? Share with me in the comments 💜
🌊 Wading through the waves, holding the vision, and trusting the tides,
Jen
I like to ground myself with journaling and tarot cards too! Today I went for a walk with Purdy (my friend’s dog that I’m looking after) and that helped too.
Jen, this is gold! And I SO relate to it! While I can honestly say my intuition has never led me astray, and is the "voice" that leads me to flourishing. I'd also say it doesn't usually lead me where I thought it was going to. I especially resonate with how you say: "You listen. You move. You stay open." Yes! All 3 are so key! The life coaching program I recently completed is very much about helping people connect to their intuition. And part of that is realizing that you can literally be successful 100% of the time by either achieving your best case scenario, reaching your expected result, or learning something (and thus growing). What I hear from you, and quite connect to from my story, is that latter piece. And how sometimes, the main "reason" our intuition guides us on a path, is to learn and grow. Thanks, Jen!