Have you noticed how so many of us conclude positive results with something like, “Praise God! God is so good.”  I know people’s hearts are right that say this, but I wince because they are unintentionally communicating that if circumstances are devastating, God is not good.  So, I am really interested right now in people who are holding on to the goodness of God when their world is crashing in around them.

Let me tell you about a “setback success story” that is happening right now at BCC. The Compassion New England team, along with a wonderful missions team from First Assembly of God in Rockford, Illinois, came alongside our own Jeannine Macamaux to do a makeover of her beauty salon.  Jeanine is a single mom for whom life has had may setbacks already.  Let’s not miss the fact that She had already invited my wife, Cheri, the director of Compassion New England, to coach and mentor her in learning how to have greater success in her professional and spiritual life.  I think that’s an important part of the story. The setback part comes later.

Personally, I saw the remodel of her salon in Hopedale as a benchmark in Jeannine’s progress.  Literally, within days, the salon business tripled, and she had to increase her staff. I was so excited for her, because I have seen the struggles and knew how much this meant to Jeannine and her girls.  By the way, the salon, “Restore Hair and Nails” was beautiful.

Seven weeks after the makeover, the unthinkable happened; pipes burst upstairs from her facility, flooding the salon and destroying everything.  All that work done by all those people who worked nearly twenty-four hours a day for seven days was gone.  Most significantly, the dream of overcoming and defying the odds to succeed was under water.  Many small businesses fail under normal conditions, never mind when there’s a crisis like this.  How was everyone going to get their wits about them and put humpty dumpty back together again?

 

Wisely, Jeannine had taken out renter’s insurance, but even with that, how do you keep customers on board and income coming when your physical space is gone for what she knew would be months.  To say that Jeannine was discouraged would be an understatement.  I can remember trying to have a conversation with her about it, and she couldn’t talk about it.  Why would a good God show up in such a miraculous way, through all those wonderful people, then allow the rug to be pulled out from under her like that?

The outstanding thing about Jeannine’s response was that she didn’t pull away from the people who had been alongside her to that point, from Church or from God.   When I asked her about what got her through, she said, “My Bethany family, my Life Group (SOOOO key in this), prayers and Cheri helping me keep things in perspective, keeping me focused and encouraged and shaking me when I was having a pity party, for one thing. She also said,” Praise and worship music. I Just kept singing in my head and out loud, specifically ‘Overcomer,’ by Mandisa. Sometimes we’re overcome by tragedy and find it hard to pray, but we can always sing,”

She took her business to Sei Bella’s in Milford.  Yes, she did lose customers and the commission from her employee.  Even though she lost some business and had to pay double rent for a couple of months, she was able to pay all her bills, taxes and set aside $1000 for Christmas.  She told me she never stopped paying her tithe.

Now, seven months later, the Salon is ready to re-open. This Saturday, the doors open at 60 Hopedale Street in Hopedale, and I can’t wait to see how it’s going to be blessed the second time around.  Perhaps it will be like when the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt after being devastated by the Babylonians.  God said to the nation of Israel in Haggai 2:9, “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” 

Jeannine shared with me the following closing comments: “The key is to be OBEDIENT, as much as possible (we’re human). Don’t fall back into the world, it’s SOOOO easy to do that. When you don’t feel like going to church (which has happened)… GO! Always praise Him! Don’t stop. Another key is to GIVE!! Be generous, even when you think you can’t, you can. You can’t out-give God. Be faithful with your tithe. Don’t live in the fear of giving.”

When this whole process started, Jeanine was $20,000 in debt.  She will be debt-free when it’s all done. So, stay humble when you have a setback, and you will learn that with God, every setback is a setup for what He intends for your future. And remember, “God is good all the time.”