Refining in the Fire
My prayer journal entry from August 16th, 2021
This past week a friend shared a Facebook reel with me about a Bible verse…
Malachi 3:3 ESV He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
How does a silversmith refine and purify silver? By placing it in the fire. When he does so, the impurities raise to the top where he can then scrape them off.
This got me thinking…
We question “Why?”, a lot.
The number of times I’ve said something along the lines of, “Why is this happening to me?!”, is too many to count.
Then, when I really reflect on the storms of my life, I quickly realize that this is where my faith grew the most. This is where the LORD has refined me.
COVID-19 was one of them. I questioned, “Why?”, so many times. I wanted to give up more times than I can count. Today, I realize that the LORD used it all for my good. COVID-19 placed a pressure on me and the LORD used it to make me a stronger leader. It humbled me. It led to complete surrender and dependance on Him. It led to changes in the business that would have never happened otherwise.
I was seeing things through an entirely new lens… Where we were almost out of business in February of 2021, we were now entering back-to-school season with new ways of doing business that would help deliver our most profitable season ever…
[Retyped for clarity. Added notes and elaboration are italicized…]
Monday, August 16th, 2021 9:57p Bedroom
Jesus,
Thank you for a manageable and productive day at work. I worked hard, but the team did over $21,000 in sales with our small team. The new systems and processes that are in place seem to be working well. Thank you for that. I was unsure about how the whole “pay today, pick-up tomorrow” thing would go, but it’s done pretty well. There has only been a little bit of pushback from some parents that are adamant about being there to see their child pick-up their scooter. I pray that as we get closer to the [back-to-school] weekend and time slots get more packed, things will be smooth.
[When the LORD put it on my heart that I needed to humble myself and get back on the showroom floor to personally start selling again, I started seeing things through a new lens. Normally, during a back-to-school rush, we’d have several sales team members to help, but I knew that wouldn’t be feasible in August 2021. So, the LORD directed me to make several changes.
There were several changes, but my favorite two changes: 1. Transparent pricing. I placed a sign with the breakdown of the “out the door” prices above every scooter model. Straight-forward pricing helped customers quickly realize whether a particular model was within their budget and if not, it allowed them to quickly locate one that was.
2. “Buy today, pick up tomorrow.” One of the biggest bottlenecks in scooter sales is doing the paperwork/titlework. It’s the same process as buying a car and I didn’t want to be in a position where I was doing paperwork while other customers were shopping for scooters. Instead, I created a quick process that allowed me to help the customer find the right scooter for them, collect payment and related registration information, and schedule a day for pick-up. My plan? Get all the things necessary so I could complete the title work once we closed at 5p so I could stay on the showroom floor and keep selling.
It works beautifully and allows our service team the time to schedule in the prep of the scooter into their busy service schedule without disrupting their flow. Plus, most customers were happy they didn’t have to wait around for a couple hours and could move on to other move-in tasks they needed to complete for school. Coming back the next day or at a future time that’s more convenient? “Sure, no problem!”, they’d say.
Would we or do we make exceptions? Of course, but 99% of the time, they are unnecessary.]
LORD—I also want to say THANK YOU for the best July we have ever had. We had a net income of $57,983.61 in July. This has us at a year-to-date total of $117,529.77 [net income] on total gross sales of $625,494.82. You have been so incredible bringing me through this. I paid off the business AMEX [a HUGE achievement] and I think I could pay off the PNC CC too which has ~$45k on it, but I’ve been hesitant to do so.
I just ask that you make it clear and easy for me to do so. I pray that I will be able to eliminate ALL this debt I’ve had on this company for so long. I’m inspired and motivated to get it gone. Please help.
LORD—Let tomorrow be busy, yet smooth like today was. Please keep the weather nice and dry this week so we can not have any disruptions in the schedule of pickups [those customers coming in to get their scooters and do their lessons with our team]. Continue to keep my team safe and healthy during this season.
I’m so grateful for the sales, cash flow, and profits. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much.
Collin
July and August of 2021 weren’t about the profits. Though I’m most certainly grateful for the 180º about-face we had in business that year, I’m more grateful for the refining I went through during that entire season. I’m grateful to have been placed in a position that required us to innovate and change our systems and processes. I’m grateful for the perseverance. I’m grateful for God’s love and grace given to me.
I’ve still got a long way to go and sense the LORD refining me even today, but am grateful for all of it.
So, how do you know when the silver is pure?
“Oh, that’s easy,” the silversmith responds.
“When I can see my image in it.”
My prayer is that upon completion of this “refining” process, the LORD will see His image in me—and that I may be a beautiful reflection of who Jesus is when others look at me, too.
God bless you all. Thank you for reading.
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I pray my voice will be one that points people to Jesus, then encourages others to invest deeply into that relationship and follow Him.
