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And Delivereth Girdles unto the Merchant

(After attending Water of Life Church for a couple of years Doyle said God was going to bring me into Proverbs 31. I had no idea what those verses entailed then, but I have since seen those verses come alive in my life.)

In the beginning of 1992 I had a small sign business that worked out of my home. God had led me to start it. It had begun by mostly making paper grocery store signs for a local grocer and by this time had grown to where I was handling 4 stores. One of the store’s managers took an interest in me; he knew I did good work and could be counted on.

This grocery chain was one of the leading grocers in the United States. They were opening up a new market in our area that consisted of 8 large stores. They needed a local sign company to supply the interior signage. This manager suggested I bid for the job. I would be bidding against some of the largest sign companies in the area. My company consisted of me and the baby I was carrying! I did not have the equipment or the personnel, but I knew it was right and with my husband's coaching I went to the meeting.

There were about 8 men around the table when they invited me in. One was the manager I worked with, the rest were regional people and some higher-ups from California. They asked me questions about my work, what I could do for them and so forth. It was all very professional until one question, spoken in a slightly patronizing voice, “Ms. Small, we are all a little nervous here that once you have that baby, you will want to play with it and not want to finish the job at hand.” I laughed. I looked right at him and responded, “Sir, this is baby number three. My focus at this point is that babies one, two, and three get fed.’ The whole room broke out in laughter. The meeting finished, I went home and received the call later that I had won the account.

The eight stores were to open not more than two weeks apart and would need over one hundred signs each. As I said earlier, I did not have the equipment, or the personnel, but God came through. David Hobson, a dear friend and owner of Hobson Choice Signs let me use his equipment without charge after hours. My sister-in-law, Paula, and a lady named Carol came to work for me part time. Jack helped whenever he was not working. There were nights I worked in David’s shop until two and three in the morning. I would then spend the day taking care of my family and putting signs together until Paula and Carol arrived. We would then work until late. Jack, Paula, and I would then go to the stores and install the signs. We made every deadline, even the store we were working on when John was born.

The money I made from the first opening paid for the computer I needed to work at home. I stopped making paper signs for the grocery stores and started taking on other customers. My business grew. It grew until I could no longer handle it and Jack took it over by the will of God.

The Power of God took me,a woman with no more than a paint brush and put her in the business world where she dealt with some of the largest corporations in our country. He can take the weak and make them strong.

You may email Kathie Small at Kathie3@jacksmall.com

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