This is the continuation and conclusion of my previous writing, “Every Little Thing”.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me.You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
– Psalms 139:1-6, New Living Translation
Today’s events in the opening ceremony of my new DELL retail outlet that I was talking about in my previous post have totally proved that GOD takes care of even the most little things and strengthened my faith immensely. There were several unexpected problems that were coming my way in today’s preparations for the opening ceremony as I had to juggle three things at once this week: managing my DELL retail outlets (my usual work), managing the IT fair at Jatim Expo International and also managing the opening of this new retail outlet, something (or a lot of things) was bound to go wrong as I was pushing myself far beyond my limits leaving myself dead tired and totally stretched thin.
Deadline Day Issues
In my previous post, I stated that I have to deal with the store opening deadline, which is actually on November 1st, 2011. This deadline has given me a lot of headache, because at that point, I will still have an IT fair running at Jatim Expo so my time and resources would be really limited. My dad then made the decision that we were going to hold the store opening ceremony and blessings on November 5th, 2011 (today) and proceed to start the retail store’s operation on Monday, November 7th, 2011.
This hard decision was ultimately made to avoid any further conflict and issues with the mall’s management. Unfortunately, as this decision was made in quite a rush, it brought forth another issue that we only had a few days to prepare everything and finish the entire renovation work. I asked my contractors to make haste and finish things on time, and by God’s grace, the store interior renovations were completed by this morning, allowing me to proceed with the opening ceremony. There are still some minor work left to do on the exterior, but they should be finished by Sunday night, which means I should be able to finally open this store for business on Monday (barring any major unexpected things).
…And Then I Forgot To Ask Permission…
Yes, due to my hectic schedule, I actually forgot to inform the mall’s management about this opening ceremony and invite them to it. Since my store is located around the centre of an open area with a lot of traffic, it would have been wise to ask them for permission first, as the opening ceremony would start with a prayer meeting, which would have been a strange sight for people not familiar with it. So this morning I wrote an invitation letter and drove as fast as I can to the mall to finish this issue…
…only to find the management office CLOSED. I then asked a security guard nearby and he told me that it’s been a while since the management office are closed on Saturdays. Last I remembered, it was open on Saturdays, albeit only for a half-day. Well, at least since the management were closed, it means I wouldn’t have any problems with them today with the ceremony. But it sure led to another problem.
…And THERE WERE NO CHAIRS!!!
When I did my previous store opening ceremonies in this mall, the management would let me borrow their chairs for the event. Since their office was closed, it means there were no chairs that I could borrow! I then arranged for some chairs to be delivered from my office to the store, but it would take some time before the chairs arrived, while I had to start the opening ceremony real soon, as the guests were already coming in.
But GOD was Good and Gracious…
Since we had no chairs, the worship leader just asked us to stand around together in a circle. Somehow, this made the situation more intimate and I could certainly feel GOD’s presence being there. Although we only sang three songs in acapella (since we were worried it would have been too loud and distracting for the other stores nearby if we used a guitar), I felt the songs really came out from the heart towards GOD. After some testimonies from me and my dad as the store owners, it was then time for the sermon to begin.
To be honest, coming in to this opening ceremony, I didn’t know who was going to preach. I had hoped for someone from ICA to give the sermon and bless the store, but as I was very busy and it was all so sudden, I didn’t have the chance to invite someone from ICA. When the prayer meeting organizer asked who would I have liked to invite, my mind was just totally blank,as I couldn’t think clearly at that time due to hecticness. So I left the decision on whom to invite entirely on the organizer, but it turns out that GOD was the ultimate organizer and He made a divine appointment for me. Guess who GOD invited?
