living your faith (edit, back)
About a year and a half ago, I made the decision to work with a mastermind group of small business owners from around the country. Early on, I made it very clear that Sabbath was a day set aside for God, family, and rest. It was something I wasn’t going to forsake, even to compete in growth challenges. With raised eyebrows, everyone agreed to let me have the day off. One of the events I was encouraged to attend was over a weekend in Las Vegas, and I agreed to go with the understanding that during the Sabbath hours I would not be participating. As I left the event Friday evening, one of my peers, a Mormon, asked if he could treat me to dinner and learn more about my church that I was so passionate about. The next evening, as I returned to the event, he approached me and asked if he could borrow my rental car because, after our conversation, he was so impressed by my commitment that he had decided for himself to stop working on Sunday and start keeping it as he believed it should be.
That was a year ago. To this day, it is understood that any event that occurs over the weekend I will not participate on Sabbath. Thanks to the divine inspiration of conversations between business peers, attitudes have gone from questioning why I would sacrifice an entire day of potential productivity to outright support for keeping the Sabbath and the values I hold dear to my heart. Regardless of their background, my business peers support me in my goal to grow my business around my beliefs and values. Conversations around the boardroom, in the pool, or in the car often turn to asking about my beliefs and who Adventists are, opening the opportunity for me to share.
While not the typical marketplace, these peers and industry leaders are watching me and observing the choices I make on a personal and professional level. Every day, God gives me opportunities to reflect Him. I believe that God is leading me and my business, not only in ways of success but also in small ways to use relationships to build bridges and share.