Starting a business has an interesting way of changing people. I cannot exactly describe it, other than to tell you a little story. But, I am telling you now that since I have started a business, I am a different person.
When I joined the company I am with now, I was not looking for anything in particular. In fact, I was simply looking for a chance to make up some money from hours missed due to COVID-19 causing us to homeschool our two kids. Two days after I signed my business agreement, I got fired from my job. I was devastated. I had worked there for just over 2 years, in the field that I went to college for. I was doing everything that I had been trained to do. I went to school, got good grades, and got a decent job in my chosen field. So, I applied for unemployment. I also applied for a LOT of jobs, I actually lost count how many. After a few days, I gave up on that. It was a lost cause. No one was going to hire me, I was that useless girl who lost her job. (That's how I felt, at least).
On Friday of that first week, I was invited to join a Zoom meeting that was supposed to be a training for people in the company. The people talking on it were absolutely inspiring. I started to believe that maybe I had made the right choice. That I should at the very least give it a chance because who knew? If even half of what these people was saying was true, it could change my life. I actually ended up texting the man who brought me on, "John.... I think I lost my job for a reason."
In less than a week, I brought my husband on with me and we are now partners.
We spent some time learning from several people how to do our new business, got our state licenses in the field, and started making some real money part time from home!
It was nice, we started to feel really good. But there was something missing. We started talking about going back to church. It helped, I think, that some of the leaders in our company told us that God wanted us to be where we were.
My husband talked with some friends who he used to go to church with while playing video games online. Through that, we were invited to attend church with another couple whom my husband has known for about 17 years.
We went. And, it felt like home.
On the first Sunday of attending, I started to cry at one point, and felt compelled to walk to the altar where I received the gift of the Holy Ghost for the very first time. That was an interesting experience! I felt as if I was about to fall, and almost hot. Like there was an electricity in my limbs, and what sounded like whining to my ears was apparently me speaking in tongues. Me.... Despite all of the things that I have done, Despite all of the things that I have been through. That experience made everything that I had heard as a child feel real in a sense. Like it was not an experience reserved for those holier than me.
We kept working and making our way in the business. And eventually, the same couple who brought us to church was the first couple that my husband made a sale to on his own.
A few weeks after that, we went back to church again and the energy in the sanctuary was special. A sort of special that can only be described as weird. And weird, in this sense, is not a bad term. I mean weird in that I cannot accurately describe the feeling with the words I know. People were crying, praying, screaming in tongues. To someone who wouldn't understand, it would probably have been horrifying. For me, it was compelling. I felt compelled to take action! To be baptized in Jesus' name.
Acts 2:38-39 says, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call"
I was called. Here, is where it gets beautiful. My husband led me to the altar, we prayed, and soon I was led to a back room, stripping off my clothing and changing into a robe. And I was baptized, with the couple I spoke about earlier helping us through everything. The wife helped me prepare, and held my glasses. And the husband actually held me, immersed me in the water and prayed over me. My husband stood on the stairs to the baptismal, and the smile on his face was one I have only seen three times before. First, when we were married, and the other times at holding our children for the first time. I was baptized by our first client.
And without starting my business, I may have never done this. I may have never returned to church. I may have never changed my life so profoundly. I may have never felt so confident in my inherent goodness, that I could take this leap.
When you look at everything that business can bring to your life, you start to appreciate that you have a mission. A mission that God put you on, and it is in your best interest to come with an open heart, and a grateful spirit. I believe deeply that doing this, will guide you so far in this life. If you are willing to realize that life in business, and outside of it is a give and take, you can lean on your value. Because believe me, if God chose me, there is absolutely hope for you too. The beauty of business, and betting on yourself, is that you learn others will be willing to bet on you too.
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