Refined by interruption - part 6 of 8
Psalm 81:16 ESV
But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
What was happening in year five:
We all know what happened in 2020. We are all far too familiar. Uniquely for this business, 2020 was a year we were refined by interruption. Our first event was a success so this enneagram 3 entrepreneur subconsciously decided we’d be hosting similar events every year. Wrong. God keeps me humble when he throws a wall up right in the middle of my plans. This business has never been one to stay the same year-over-year, which is comical if you know my personality and preference for routine. I’ve come to learn of the beauty found, as the leader of this ministry, in the interruption. I anticipate it now. God doesn’t want me comfortable because it is in my comfort that I miss His vision.
Personally, I had been married just about two years and we were trying to grow our family. Little did we know infertility was a part of our story. I don’t have much to elaborate on this topic for the sake of this post today but that was a part of my personal journey among the business details you’re about to read.
We had our second annual Dallas event planned. The venue contract was signed, our speakers, sponsors and vendors were confirmed. Minus the details, the event was a big green light GO.
After MANY (bless my husband) conversations, prayers and admittedly tears, I made the decision to cancel our event. The risk was too great. In this decision, are we surprised that God met me? He opened the door to transfer sponsorship dollars and speakers to the launch of the Wheatful Woman Podcast, which led to great blessing that will have to be another blog post for another day. The relationships found through interviews, the stories of how women have treasured moments with Jesus because of the ways He has prompted women interviewed to speak of Him…the podcast is a treasure in my faith that I hold near my heart and it is all because my plans were interrupted.
Fast forward several months. I had accepted we were not hosting our large event when God woke me up in the middle of the night with urgency to host a smaller event. No lie, I got up and put together a business plan. I ran the numbers and figured out how we might make a smaller scale event work. An event that would keep everyone safe while still leaning into this newfound mission to gather women for meaningful connection. Two weeks later, we launched two day retreats that filled in a matter of hours.
Women need one another. We need space to worship on a patio, laugh over mimosas, learn from the experiences of others and be pampered…just a bit! The vision God has given me for our events is to create a deeply meaningful atmosphere where He meets us and to sprinkle some elements around to spoil us all. You will never leave one of our events hungry or without a new favorite swag bag thing of some sort. I’m grateful to steward spaces of quality people and atmosphere, where we see God show up.
The interruption of this year refined my faith through my trust that God could create something just as impactful even though the package looked smaller. God met me in my trust as I watched 40 women encounter Him, find rest and enjoy new friendships to the same scale as our 200 person event. God, once again, showed me He is trustworthy as He used a podcast to draw women near. An addition to this business that felt “distant” and “impersonal” became a tool He used for His great glory. He took my faith and what looked smaller and impersonal to my eye and said, “just watch”.
I took this theme of “refined by interruption” to heart both professionally and personally. Looking back I see His faithfulness in fullness, now knowing of our Seaside, FL retreats and as a mama holding my newborn son. At the time, God gave me faith to “just watch” to see how He would show up so that’s just what I did.
How God showed us who He is:
We can receive interruptions as nuisances or opportunities. To our flesh and instincts, interruptions are frustrating and almost like a fly that keeps swarming around our head space. To God, He uses interruptions as opportunities to pull us from our tunnel vision and see something greater. Are we interruptible? Do we see our plans not going the way we foresaw as an opportunity to be refined and know Jesus more? Some of the people I see Jesus in the most have a peaceful heart posture that looks so much different than the world’s taught heart posture. God gives us the ability to be focused, efficient and peaceful. God allows us to go about our days with much productivity when we are working alongside Him instead of our man-made checklist. God gives us moments to move fast and focused on the road ahead and moments He asks us to pause in something new He strategically and lovingly put before us. Interruptions can lead to some of the most rich moments with our Father. If we view them as a nuisance, we miss the moment of knowing Him more fully and we miss the experience of His peace and the opportunity to look different than the world we live in.
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