When the World Shut Down, I Chose to Build My Dream
- Oct 3, 2025
- 2 min read
By Rev. Sydney Francis
Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, Spiritual Mentor, and Founder of SoulGardner.me
In February of 2020, two weeks before the pandemic hit, I left my teaching job to pursue an art business with my partner. We had big plans, projects lined up, and a sense of excitement about building something creative together.
Then the world shut down. Our art studio closed overnight. The restaurant and retail projects we had lined up were canceled. And when I tried to apply for unemployment, I discovered someone had used my Social Security number to claim benefits. Despite repeated attempts, I couldn’t reach anyone at the state office to fix it.
Suddenly, I had two kids at home, no income, no safety net, and no idea how I was going to keep the lights on. The fear was real, but I didn’t have the luxury of crumbling.
Shortly after the shutdown, my partner woke up with an idea. He had read about a nonprofit in town that taught sewing as an employment skill and they were producing surgical masks for the community. He called to ask if there was any way we could help, and it turned out the slowest part of their process was cutting fabric. We had a laser cutter at the studio. We could do that.
We got to work. The first day, I realized how huge the task was going to be, so I reached out for help. Soon we had 16 volunteers working in shifts, cutting surgical material from the hospital into mask patterns. By the end of May 2020, we had helped produce over 20,000 masks. The hospital even paid us for our work, allowing us to give stipends to our volunteers.
For a few months, the mask project kept us busy and afloat. But when it ended, I was back in the same uncertain place: unemployed and uncertain with a closed studio.
That’s when I made the choice. I had always dreamed of starting a spiritual business, of doing the healing and intuitive work that had been my passion for decades.
With a lot of prayer and trust in the universe, I began. I took marketing classes. I formed a small group program. I offered one-on-one healing sessions. Month after month, I faced the unknown, often wondering if I could buy groceries, keep the utilities on, or make rent.
But I stayed with it. I chose to believe I had something of value to share. I chose courage over fear, faith over despair.
Six years later, I still run my spiritual business. Our art business is thriving too. I no longer live in survival mode. I’m living in the life I dreamed of, and it’s richer and more meaningful than I could have imagined back in those terrifying early days.
If the pandemic taught me anything, it’s this: uncertainty is inevitable, but fear is optional. The moment you decide to believe in yourself despite the circumstances, you open the door to a future you didn’t think was possible.
Connect With Rev. Sydney
YouTube: @sydneyfrancis6248
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