Last year Jay told me that he felt like God was moving The Channel downtown; we had talked and prayed for years that God would place us back on Main Street. Not only did Jay want to, but The Channel was being "pushed out" of the space on Orchard Park. (LONG, amazing story of how God brought divine connections and ordered our steps).
I began fervently praying that God would CLOSE the door if it wasn't His will. And yes, I did say CLOSE the door. You see, I was working 50 hours a week. My husband was running The Channel every Friday and Saturday, and many other evenings as well. So I was kind of hoping that we would get pushed out of where we were, no one would let us move anywhere else and Jay would get a normal job and the we would be able to have a normal life. You know, the one where the husband goes to work, the wife stays at home with the kids, dinners ready on the table waiting...
Guess normal wasn't in my cards. The doors didn't close, they just kept opening. You see it wasn't that I just wanted a normal life, but there were a few other roadblocks that I saw...
like - NO MONEY for renovations and start up expenses.
So I needed a new tactic: "Okay God, I won't sign this lease or let Jay sign it unless I know that I know that I know that YOU are really leading us to do this, so be clear if this is your will." That night, God woke me up at 2:00 a.m. and impressed on my heart to read the story of Noah and the Ark. As I read the story, God revealed to my heart that Jay was like Noah, and that he wanted The Channel on Main Street and was going to provide AFTER we took a step of faith to start. Noah never saw rain until he obeyed and had faith.
So we signed the lease.
Jay and a team of volunteers, some homeless guys, and a small construction team tore down 12 rooms and 4 ceilings - over 80,000 lbs. of debris.
After about two months, they had done practically everything they could have. If money didn't come in, they were going to be at a standstill.
That night, the least likely person we would have ever imagined asking for help approached us and said they wanted to invest $50,000!
