Late last week when my husband told me Jim had passed away, I felt really sad.
I hadn’t talked to Jim in many years, not since completing a couple technical language conversion projects for his government contracting business. I didn’t even know the accomplished urban professional very well; I had only spoken to him around 4 or 5 times. All of our dealings with each other ended after Kenya and I completed his business projects.
But Jim was our very first paying client back when we were nervous new entrepreneurs. Yep, the first one ever.
After plenty of prayer, research, and lots of encouragement from the Holy Spirit, we were wide-eyed and ready to launch an enterprise together.
So we did.
We officially opened our little writing and consulting business from our dining room in our small apartment with no clients and no real understanding of marketing. I remember Kenya and I virtually bankrupted ourselves buying up business supplies and such.
Bless our sweet naive hearts.
We didn’t have a fancy portfolio with a long list of impressive projects we had successfully completed. We didn’t have a staff working with us. All we had was a gift and belief that God had called us to business—well, Kenya believed in the calling more than I did. I thought surely God had picked the wrong girl. I was terrified that I didn’t really have what it took to make it in business. My English Degree meant nothing to me. In my mind, I was just a happy housewife destined to “be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth” with miniature Hobbs’.
Well, God had more in mind.
He sent us Jim who contracted our services for $40.00.
That much? Yeah, I know, right? We were ballin' out of control with a fat knot full of ones! ;-)
We put our heart and soul into that project. After that, Jim liked our work so much, he even threw another $30.00 writing project our way.
He invested a total of $70.00 into our business, which would seem a very small amount for some. But both my husband and I were so grateful for the opportunity to use our gifts, you would have thought Jim paid us $7,000! We were in awe that someone would invest anything in our services.
We never spoke to Jim again after that and had not heard anything else about him, until last week.
News reports say he died quietly in his home. He was only 46 years old.
So young still.
I’ll never know all the things Jim was able to accomplish before leaving this earth. But one thing he did do was sow into the lives of a young woman and man who God intended to use mightily in business. For that reason, I will always be thankful for how God used Jim in our lives.
Looking retrospectively, I could not have imagined how God would prosper our business.
We were so small back then, but God had big plans for us.
And He has great big plans for you also.
To remind you of this, I want to add Zechariah 4:10a to your cup of inspiration today. It says, "For who hath despised the day of small things?”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will be reminded that big things start out small, so it does not matter how you start, but how you finish. No matter where you are today, the Lord already sees and knows your “shall be.” So just trust Him. As Jeremiah 29:11NIV says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
As the saying goes, little becomes much when you place it in the Master's hand.
God, I believe You have awesome plans for my life. But sometimes, it can be hard to believe for great things when I feel so small. Lord, when I look at my resources, knowledge, and abilities, they don’t seem to measure up to the large vision You have given me for my life. So, right now, I pray that You will help me not to be discouraged by my own smallness, but rather, focus on Your bigness and Your great power to do anything but fail. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
