A grateful moment

23 Feb A grateful moment

Being an entrepreneur in the Restaurant Business is without a doubt, THE hardest role I have ever taken on in my lifetime.  To be clear, most roles I’ve assumed I had little or no experience in.  I figured it out, surrounded myself with an excellent team, and chased excellence.  The Restaurant Business is an entirely different animal.  It’s hard to tame.  But I have faith that it will be just fine.

Today I want to take a moment to just say “THANK YOU” from the bottom of my heart.  In just 5 quick months, I have seen it all.  I have experienced the thrill of seeing lines “out the door” at mac-O-licious.  I have seen days that were so slow, that I had to send home staff who needed the money.  I have been wonderfully surprised by people around me, and in the next instance – disappointed and hurt to my core.

My Mentor happens to be someone who was making a U-turn in the parking lot.  He saw the sign, came in and observed our operations for about an hour, and then imparted wisdom and a wealth of knowledge to me.  He is always there when I have exciting news, or to listen when I am fighting tears.  He tells me, “You are going through Earth School.  Enjoy the journey.  This stuff is EXCITING!”

The other day, I was sitting in my delivery van praying.  No one would know, as I was just sitting there with my eyes open.  Out of nowhere, two of my favorite customers come over to my car.  They extend their arms and give me a big hug!  We had never hugged before.  It was as if God whispered, “I SEE YOU.”

We are at an interesting place right now.  We are on the verge of something big.  Yet, it’s at these moments that it seems like every obstacle and challenge comes to distract.  It seems like every day has been a swing of “highs” and “lows” that test me to see if I can stay focused.  Tests to see if I have the strength and courage to see it through.  Even something as simple as one Saturday the place is slow, and the next it’s standing room only.  How do you balance staff, and prepare enough food (or not too much) when the swings are so drastic?  It’s all part of the process of learning, and over time I know we will have the answers.

I am learning to find excitement in the challenges, and grateful that my Mentor reminded me to take that perspective.  When life gets crazy, it can be easy to forget.  But wise Counsel states “Count it all joy”.

One thing I know for sure is, I couldn’t have made it through these 5 months without my Angels.  Some are customers.  Some are employees.  Some are neighbors in the shopping strip.  Some are friends and family.  They provide the whispers from God when I am too caught up to hear on my own.  They are gentle reminders, leading me back to Him – the One who knows everything before it happens.  He’s got this!