arrival in the town, the servant had the camels kneel down near the town well. He then prayed, “O Lord, God of my master, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Today at sunset, when the town’s daughters come out to the well to draw water, direct me to the one whom I should take back to my master for his son Isaac. I will know that one because when I ask her for a drink, she will give me one and then will offer to give water to all the camels as well.”
Before he had finished praying (God often answers our prayers even before we complete them), Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was stunningly beautiful and a virgin. While she was filling her jar with water, the servant ran to meet her and said, “Could you please give me a drink of water from your jar?” She quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
When he was finished drinking, Rebekah made an astonishing offer: “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they’re all filled up.” (Watering camels is no small task, as a camel’s holding tank is about 114 litres, or 30 gallons, and it takes about 13 minutes to get the task done. That’s just one camel; Rebekah had ten to fill up. But her faithfulness in carrying out that task was wonderfully rewarded!) After spending the night in the home of Rebekah, the servant returned home with her and his entourage, praising God that he had been led to the right person to be Isaac’s wife.
Yes, a job well done will always reap rewards eventually. The dirty job I had accepted and worked at with all my might was to lead to an office job beyond my fondest imagination. One day, while we were having a snack break, the owner of the house returned from his office to see how we were getting along. After a few minutes, he drew me aside and asked me if we could have coffee together sometime. I had no idea why he was inviting me to have coffee with him, but I told him I would be happy to do that. He related the time and place we would meet. When he left, I asked Vic why this gentleman would want to have coffee with me. With a little grin on his face he said, “I think you’ll be glad you met with him, but that’s all I can share with you right now.” Vic was in on the plan. And of course God was at work in my life, as He always has been. The fulfillment of the promise of Psalm 23:1 was at hand: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (NKJV).
THE MEETING
We met and ordered and sipped coffee, and his first sentence was “Well, Ernie, you must be wondering why I wanted to get together with you.”
I responded, “For sure! And so are my wife and sons.”
“Well,” he continued, “Vic has shared with me a little about your past, and as I have watched you work and listened to you express yourself, the idea came to me that you just might fit into a new position I am opening up in my company.” He then elucidated what the company was all about and what the job description would look like.
The more he talked, the more I was getting a warm feeling that this was a position I would indeed fit into and love. I would become the general manager of the aluminum company. When he said what the starting salary would be, plus the provision of a new car, I said under my breath, “Thank You, Lord. This sounds just like what I need in my life right now.” After I recovered from being a little in shock, I responded with “I would love to accept your offer.” We shook hands on the deal (no signing of any document) and agreed that I would commence my new job the following Monday.
Vic’s response? Sheer delight! Marion’s and the boys’ response? Absolute delight! Remember one of my mom’s favourite Bible verses? “God will provide” (Genesis 22:8, NKJV). And for four years and three months I enjoyed every aspect of the job, even getting into sales, which, because I was well-known in the Barrie area, became a little gold mine for me—and my family.
When employees of the company found out that I was an ordained minister, “Pastor Ernie” became my new appellation. This led to many interesting discussions and even counselling sessions, which I did freely and free of charge. One of the salesmen was having a rough time in his marriage, and I was able to help him work through it. Yes, once a pastor, always a pastor! One of the spin-off benefits of my job was that I could provide part-time work for my sons after school, Saturdays, and summers.
BAD NEWS!
The company continued to expand, but it began to get into deep financial cash flow problems, through purchasing new trucks as well as erecting a new headquarters. As a result, the bank became concerned and declared the company bankrupt. As I was one of the highest-paid employees, I was first to receive my termination letter. However, I didn’t panic, as I knew that the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23:1 would provide for me and my family in another way. It was of course a rather troubling time for Carolyn, who had now become my wife and the boys’ stepmother. Once again I was without employment and income. So…what do I do now? Back to prayer: “Lord, where do I go from here?” And back to leaning on my mom’s favourite Bible verse: “God will provide” (Genesis 22:8, NKJV).
GOOD NEWS!
And here is where the sun began to shine again (as it always does!) as you will read in the following pages.
BANKRUPTICIES and TERMINATIONS BEGONE!
The evening after my termination from the aluminum company, I gathered Carolyn and the boys around our kitchen table and told them the bad news. There was no sense of panic expressed, but we all agreed that for the time being we would have to tighten our belts, and this included cancelling a trip to Cuba that Carolyn and I had planned for our first wedding anniversary. We all held hands while I prayed for God’s guidance and peace, and we left the table knowing that “this too will pass” (one of Carolyn’s favourite sayings when something went wrong).
A VISION IN THE NIGHT
That night I had difficulty sleeping, which is unusual for me, whatever the circumstances of life might be. It wasn’t a feeling of anxiety that was keeping me awake and alert; it was a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
There’s an old facetious saying, “When all else fails, pray.” That has never been the modus operandi of my life, as I resort to prayer immediately when something goes awry. After all, no matter how distressing or vexing the matter might be, God has the solution all worked out. All we have to do is “wait on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, NKJV)—which is not always easy—and He will reveal His will to us.
The same thoughts came bouncing around in my mind: Ernest, maybe it’s time to launch your own business, and then you will never get terminated, and you’ll be your own boss. The thought came back to me that I had heard many years before: If someone turns a hobby into a business they will have life made. I went over the things that I was proficient at and enjoyed, and I kept coming back to one: decorating. Yes, that’s it; I will establish my own decorating business! I felt like waking up Carolyn to tell her my plans for my new job, but as she always (unlike me) had difficulty getting back to sleep, I would wait until the morning. Soon I was going through my Bible verse and hymn routine, and I fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
MORNING FOLLOW-UP
When I awoke early the next morning (I’m a morning person), I could hardly wait until Carolyn awoke to reveal my revelation. And when she did wake up and I said that I had something really exciting to share with her, she responded with “Could we just wait until after breakfast?” So we did—as I had no choice.
I began to tell her about the new venture I believed God was leading me into. Her first reaction was her usual one: “Uh, huh.” Then her keen mind went into motion. First question—and an insightful one: “What would you do for a vehicle?” And then, “What would you do about equipment?” And “How are you going to get customers?” And “What would you call it?”
Well, I had those all worked out in my mind, and told her.
For a vehicle I would start out just using my little Mazda coupe. As to how I would cram all the supplies and equipment into that little space—I would just make it work!
For equipment and supplies, I would simply go to the appropriate stores and purchase them.
To get customers, I would place an ad in the local newspaper. And here is where the name of the company becomes relevant. As I was well-known