According to the clock on my computer, I had 10 minutes before the kids got in from school. I finished processing one final order and then logged off.
Ten years of running a catalog business out of my home had taught me how to put away my work at day's end and concentrate on other things. It wasn't always that way.
My husband, Herbert, and I started Spencer Associates after our second child was born, so that I could contribute to our income and stay at home with the kids.
Despite the encouragement of our friend and business advisor, Bob, I couldn't stop worrying. "I've never run a business," I said. "What if I can't do it?"
"You've done your research, and you have a good business plan," Bob reminded me. "Now you have to take a risk."
The risk paid off. By the time our third child was born, the business was holding steady. Now it had to grow to make our efforts worthwhile.
I began to worry again and thought about the business constantly: during dinner, when I helped the kids with homework, as I lay in bed at night. I might as well have been putting in long hours at an office somewhere, for all the good I was to my family.
Bob dropped by one evening to talk strategy with us. "You're ready to expand, get this catalog into the hands of more people, increase your volume of sales."
"I wish I could be sure," I said, cradling baby Amber in my arms. "What if the whole business falls apart?"
"Business is a lot like life, Marion," Bob went on. "You do your homework, offer good service and leave the rest to God."
Herbert walked Bob out to his car, I looked down at my sleeping baby. She trusts she's safe in my arms. Why can't I trust in God the same way?
I closed my eyes and pictured an angel with massive wings. She opened them wide and folded one then the other around my shoulders, completely enveloping me in her embrace. I felt warm and safe, confident even.
I heard the front door creak and opened my eyes. Herbert came inside and took a step toward us. Just as I opened my mouth to tell him about the angel, he turned around and went right out the door again without a word. That was strange, I thought. He must have forgotten to tell Bob something.
Herbert came back a few minutes later. This time he walked into the kitchen and gave me a kiss. "Didn't you take Amber up to bed?" he asked. "You weren't here a minute ago when I came in to tell you I was going to move the car."
Now I was really confused. "We've been sitting here the whole time," I said. "You looked right at us when you came in before you went back outside."
Herbert walked back to the door and stood in the same spot he had the first time he came inside. "I couldn't have missed you from here," he said. "If you'd been sitting there, Marion, I would have seen you."
"Not if an angel had her wings wrapped around us," I said. My husband listened in amazement as I explained to him why I suddenly felt perfectly ready to move ahead on our business plans.
Today Spencer Associates–and the Spencer family–is thriving. I still work hard, do lots of research and weigh all my decisions carefully. But when my workday is over, I turn my attention to other important things, knowing God is always on the job.
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