Dear Reader:

In between all the Louise Penny detective series of novels…I squeezed in this book that I had been wanting to read (for quite awhile) over the weekend. Lassie had it on her table in the living room and I begged to borrow it. It was calling my name.

It is actually a short read…one afternoon and evening…but it is filled with so many  God Winks that came to Joanna through God’s whispers and miraculous events timed to perfection in both of their roller coaster lives… combining family, marriage, risky business opportunities, and God’s helping hand guiding them through it all.

Joanna first heard the little whisper inside of her (that she later recognized as God’s voice) while on her first date with Chip.

Chip was the opposite of everything she wanted in her life (or so she thought) as she watched him on their first date: “ I’ve always been attracted to quiet guys and I liked stability. I liked traditional and I liked people being on time.” (Chip showed up an hour and a half late for their first date.)

….“I know this is going to sound strange to some people, but right in the middle of these thoughts-of me trying to figure this guy out, a little voice in my head said, That’s the man you’re going to marry.”  – It seemed like the voice of God to me.

….And soon married they were.

When Joanna decided to open up a little design shop in Waco…it was Chip who was her best supporter…who encouraged her to stop doodling and dreaming and just do it. Together they both decided the little shop would be named Magnolia. Joanna explains the symbolism behind the name and their life together starting from seed.

“There’s something so beautiful about a magnolia blossom. It demands attention, It’s a  tight little pod that stays closed up for a long time on the end of its branch until one day, out of nowhere, it finally bursts open into this gigantic, gorgeous, fragrant flower that’s ten times bigger than the bud itself. It’s impossible to imagine that such a big beautiful thing could pop out of that tiny little bud, but it does.”

The shop was an instant success…drawing in a wide diversity of customers that lead to offers for Chip and Jo to help design rooms or homes for several of their customers. But at the peak of their success over the shop…the voice reappeared. It said: “Jo…it’s time to stay home with your babies.” (She was expecting her second child by then…Ella.)

She fought the voice for weeks ‘but the voice kept on telling me, Jo, its time.” When she finally got up the nerve to tell Chip he was more curious than upset…Why?….“God told me to do it.” (There was no argument there.”)

Still…on the day she turned the lock on the door for the last time, sobbing, she asked again “God, are you sure this is the right move…because it seems so painful and hard?”

That’s when I heard that gentle whisper, “Joanna, if you trust me with your dreams, I’ll take you further than you could ever have imagined.”

Joanna realized later that even locked doors can be unlocked in time. “I simply never could have imagined just how much God had in store for us and I certainly couldn’t have dreamed just how many keys together for future doors God had already placed in our hands.”

Years later…the voice returned to tell her it was time to re-open the store and take it even farther than her imagination could have predicted. That is not to say that everything just fell into place…their greatest risk and challenge almost lead to total bankruptcy at one point in their lives, now with four small children. They both realized that they had to shift their way of thinking from just surviving to thriving…no matter what circumstance was unfolding in their lives.

“I always thought that thriving would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it’s actually down in the mess that things get good. If you can’t find happiness in the ugliness, you’re not going to find it in the beauty, either.”

Joanna ends the story with a tongue-in-cheek response to Chip’s role in her life…“Is he really that funny?” “Oh yeah, says Joanna. “He was, and still is , my first fixer upper.”

So until tomorrow…Come to think of it…aren’t we all God’s “fixer-uppers?” He designed us each to be an unique child of God. (P.S. If you would like to do some renovations, God, you have my blessings! Love, Becky)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*While visiting Mollie’s parents in New Hampshire….Mollie’s dad, Bruce, took Mollie and Rutledge mountain climbing. Rutledge’s first hike- up Mount Auscutney. He made it to the top! (Symbolic I am sure of things to come!)