With The Little I Have

Quickly sitting up on the bed, sweating profusely as one just back from hardcore exercise, Matt tried to fall back to reality after the dream he just had. This kind of a dream come often and he wasn’t about to take a chance on this one. With travel plans at 8.30am that morning, he had to change his scheduled plans to avoid the manifestation the dream he just had of a plane crash. ‘Hey babe, are you ok?’ His wife Rita sat up to make sure her husband was ok as he turned the light on to pray. ‘Yes, everything is in control, let us pray and thank God for what he has done for us and what He is going to do.’ Together they prayed in thanksgiving for the revelation handing everything to God.

As Matt took the later flight for his business trip, all that the media was talking about was the crashed flight earlier in the morning. ‘Lord, you are so awesome, that was my earlier scheduled flight.’ Matt bowed his head in thanksgiving for the revelation and felt happy within for being obedient. He counted himself lucky to be born into the Christian faith and having the opportunity to learn of the marvelous things God can do to those who seek him. This, like many other situations of paying attention to his dreams, was a thing of testimony for his entire family.

Hard work and perseverance are Matt’s motto. Even if it means spending late night researching or using the last penny he has to invest into a possible venture, he would do it to make sure he moves closer to achieving his dream. His dream of a better life for his family, being a helper to those in need and serving God with all he has. Making it a point of duty to always lean over to give a quick hug to her husband sitting tired in front of the computer screen in their bedroom, Rita would encourage her husband as she walked around getting chores done in the house. She was in total support of her husband’s dreams and she saw how hard he was working and putting his best into what he’s doing. Rita stayed committed and patient through it all as it was her dream too.

Matt and Rita have been together as husband and wife for eight years. Five years into their marriage, their union was blessed with a son, Bobby, a blue-eyed blessing that brought so much to their home.  They all lived a comfortable life, one that was within their means. As their family grew, life began moving fast and expenses began to grow also as they were expecting their second child. Rita’s countenance began to change as it was obvious that their financial situation was being strained by a new innovation that Matt was trying to finalize and launch. ‘It’s getting very tight babe,’ Rita would rest her head on Matt’s shoulder with the sad thought of all the bills they were accumulating. ‘I know, please have some patience sweetie, by God’s grace, it’s all going to get better, Matt held her head close as she rested on his shoulder.

Within a short while, their disposable income from each paycheck began to shrink and they seemed to fight an uphill battle to meet the family’s need. Before long, the family was living from paycheck to paycheck. Despite the tough time, this family was going through, Matt and Rita made sure staying grateful for the little they had was paramount. ‘For better, for best, we will make it,’ Matt would reassure his wife, playfully swinging their hands together like little children. These ones were not found missing in the house of God. ‘Commitment’ was always their watchword when it came to serving God and lending a helping hand in the church. One thing Rita made sure of was that her family looked their best regardless of what they were going through. Of course, there were times when patience and commitment were far from being paramount in her mind, but Matt kept encouraging her.” We need to hold on to God. This is just for a while. I am confident that this new project of mine will succeed and we will make it.”

Matt had been blessed with a business idea that was potentially going to be quite beneficial to the general public, especially the healthcare sector. He started working on this project with the little money they had. Having to use only their own money on such a new venture was difficult. However, they were able to get it off the ground slowly but steadily. Prior to a full-scale launch, Matt decided to perform a ‘soft’ launch on social media so he could test the market. Although he had done his homework by way of market research and analysis even before he decided to commit significant resources towards developing the product, he had to make sure that it would make a huge splash in the market. What came next was totally unexpected.

Forty-eight hours after the launch, Rita, the co-founder of the business, was anxiously waiting in front of the computer screen. She was so anxious that she had been glued to the screen all night monitoring the progress of the launch. Her eyes were tired and she literally fell asleep with her head on the computer table located in a corner of their bedroom. She finally roused from her brief slumber at 6:53 in the morning. Swiftly, she glanced at the computer screen and had to do a double take. Surely, this could not be? With arguably her loudest scream ever, she woke Matt. “Matt, wake up honey. Hurry! You need to see this. Oh my God! Whoa!” Rita could not control her emotions and continued screaming till Matt was reluctantly yanked from dreamland to the reality of what was happening around him.

Totally disoriented from the incessant screaming he was being subjected to, he tried to gather himself enough to mutter “what’s going on? Is everything ok? Are you ok?” He was beginning to ramble on.” Chill babe, Rita said, dancing to the rhythm of the music that was probably playing in her head, she continued, let me get you water to clean your face.  I need you fully awake for this.”  True to her words, she marched to the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth. Matt accepted it and cleaned his face with mixed emotions – he was confused and somewhat bitter at having been roused from sleep in such a manner.” So, are you going to tell me the cause of this drama this early morning?” Matt asked.

“I’m sorry my love, I am just too excited”. Clearing her throat, she continued in that selective, sweet voice she sometimes used on him, ”I am happy to inform you that all the products you listed two days ago have all been ordered. That’s not all,  there are currently a hundred and five thousand pre-order requests waiting for the same product, right this moment. Matt was already on his feet after hearing just the first few words. He dashed to the computer and stared. He could almost hear his jaw hit the floor as his mouth dropped and his eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. “Oh my God”, he uttered in disbelief. For someone who was rarely tongue-tied, he could not find words to describe how he felt at the moment.

The couple had seen and heard stories of how certain entrepreneurs sold out their products within a few hours, but they never believed they could be one of them. Their product was sold out on the third day of being launched. In fact, they had to get more supplies immediately to be able to accommodate pending orders. The day had begun well and that night was clearly going to be a very beautiful one, with his dreams of a better future as the CEO of his own multi-billion dollar company. However, that night, something happened and Matt’s priority switched from what was perhaps small venture initially planned with his wife.

Matt had a dream like he always has. This time, in the dream, he was clearly instructed to give all the profit from the product launch, after tithe, to a charity organization that helped feed the less privileged in developing countries in Africa and parts of Asia. He was told not to use even a dime from the profit for him and his family. Matt always took his dreams very seriously, and would always take steps to act in line with them. He woke up in the middle of the night and glanced at the digital bedside alarm clock. It was just 2:13 am. He tried to fight his emotions and push away the revelation he just had, citing stress and too much excitement from the events of the day as excuses. He forced himself to sleep but ten minutes in, he heard the words: “Do not forsake the words I have spoken to you, take heed my son.” In the dream, he was able to ask,” what do you want me to do?”  To which the voice responded,” I have said to you, do not use any of the profit for yourself. Give it to the ones whom I have instructed you to.  Let the words you have heard today not speak against you. Obedience is better than sacrifice.”

After much tossing and turning on the bed, Matt finally arose from a restless night at 6 am. His mind was made up – he would obey the instructions given to him. The only cause for worry was telling his wife about this. Just the day before, Rita had excitedly made plans on how they would use the proceeds of their sales to clear all their debt and start a new life. To make things worse, she had woken up singing and dancing around the house as she about her chores. She had noticed how down he looked right after he got out of bed, but she just concluded in her mind that he was overwhelmed with thoughts of how to manage their new ‘jackpot’. “Babe is everything ok? she asked her husband as they sat for breakfast early that chilly Saturday morning. You’ve been looking very…well, just… somehow since you woke up. What’s going on?” “Everything is ok sweetie, let’s eat”, he replied.

They ate their breakfast very quietly trying to somehow read each other’s mind. Being a weekend, they usually did something fun for the family, but with the results of the past day, Rita was already on her feet trying to map out their next steps, which included calling their manufacturer to place more orders, and ensuring on-time delivery. Matt called Rita to the bedroom as soon as she got off the phone with the manufacturer. “Take a seat dear, we need to talk”, Matt said. A wave of nervousness washed over Rita as she sat on the bed, especially considering her husband’s countenance all morning. Matt closed the door behind her so that their son would not hear their discussion.” You know that all that we have, especially our windfall yesterday, has been made possible by God. “Yup”, Rita responded and nodded in agreement. “Well, we are going to donate all the profit we’ve made from the launch to the Kinder heart charity”.

Rita froze at the mention of the word ‘donate’. She was frankly startled when Matt said ‘all the profit’. At first, she was speechless. She shuffled the beddings uncomfortably and nodded her head as if in agreement, trying to play the good wife, but her mind was very troubled. Matt continued, “We will reorder the same quantity for the next round with our principal, we will not try to expand the business with the profits for now.’’

Everything seemed to vanish from Rita’s head. All her plans and hopes had evaporated in just a few short seconds. She loved to help but bearing in mind their current situation, which included significant debt awaiting payment, she longed to take care of her family first. This was both heartbreaking and hard for her. However, she didn’t want to disrespect Matt, who had been at the forefront of this business day and night. He got up from the bench to sit with her on the bed, speaking softly, “Hey love, I know it’s hard and we had plans on how we were going to move forward from here. However, this is a blessing that needs to be sown to enable us to reap the bountiful harvest that is ahead of us.” Squeezing her hand, he continued, “I need you to stand by me in this, without any division of mind.”

Feeling a bit hopeful, Rita nodded and responded, “Yes, it’s ok, I’m standing by you a hundred percent dear.” They held each other and hoped deeply in their heart that there were better days ahead. They did not fully understand the present situation and what God was trying to go through them and for them. Regardless, they reasoned that if Abraham could make up his mind in total obedience, they too as human beings and descendants of a man regarded as the father of faith would also surrender themselves and their blessing to the will of God.

Deep down, Matt was very happy that this decision was made without a fight. It could only have been possible through the grace of God. Matt donated the profit from their sales as he had been instructed to, restocked his inventory from the principal, and life continued as usual for them. After a while, Matt felt he needed an investor and business partner to help expand the business and take it to the next level. After some research, he decided to take part in Business Struck, a well-known TV show.

Rita, being a very shy person, wasn’t a fan of ‘selling face’ as she would describe it. This did not stop her from supporting and following Matt to New York for the show. They said a short prayer in the waiting room backstage and waited patiently for Matt’s name to be called to make his product presentation on national TV. Rita started praying intensely as soon as Matt was cued to get ready. This was not a last-ditch effort to grow their business but it was a noteworthy opportunity to do just that.

” Hello everyone. My name is Matt Gory, the founder of this true gadget, pointing to the table full of samples he had brought along. This is a handheld household equipment that has become very useful in every home and in the healthcare industry. We launched our product a couple of months ago and recorded sales totaling five hundred thousand dollars within the first 48 hours.”

” What? How is that even possible? That’s what people make in a considerable amount of time after launching their product. Could you please show us how this works? “one of the investors asked eagerly.

“Yes, I need to see how this works”, another added. Matt gave each of the four panelists, one sample each.

After demonstrating how the product works, the panelists were filled with amazement and asked more questions.

“So, if you made half a million dollars in two days, what did you do with the money? Why are you requesting for more from a partner so soon? “the only female inventor on the panel asked.

” We reinvested the capital into the business to replenish our stock. However, we are having a difficult time keeping up with our orders. Our backorders list is pretty significant at the moment.”

“You said you reinvested the capital, correct?” One of the investors asked.

“Yes”, Matt replied, trying to suppress the nervousness that was creeping into his voice.

“Didn’t you make any profit out of it? Was the 500k all your capital?”, The investor continued.

“No, we made 100% profit on sales, but I didn’t reinvest that”.

At this point, all the investors were even more curious and the same question was at the tip of their tongues: “Why?”.

As Matt composed himself to answer this question, Rita, who was watching from the tv mounted on the wall backstage, was already on her feet and praying vehemently.

With composed confidence, Matt responded, “Being an entrepreneur, one thing has always motivated me, and that is to always lend a helping hand. Having the privilege to know God has taught me a lot. As a way of showing appreciation for even making this business possible, I dedicated all my profit to kinder heart charity to help out the many people who are homeless and in need of so many resources.”

“All of it, all the profit?” They asked with astonishment.

“Yes, everything”, Matt replied.

The panelists exchanged glances but it was the lady among them who spoke up. “Didn’t you have anything you wanted to use this money for? You do have a family, right”

With a smile, Matt replied, “Yes, I do have a family. In fact, my wife and son are waiting for me backstage. To answer the other question, yes, we have so much we could use the money for as a family. But others come first, and that’s something we as a family are aware of and comfortable with. You could say we are in a comfortable place.”

The lady continued with her line of questioning, which just made Rita more uncomfortable. She kept talking to herself” O Lord, won’t these questions finish?”

“Comfortable place”, the lady repeated. “Does that mean you don’t have any outstanding debt to clear up?”

“Actually, I have some, but it’s nothing alarming. If anything, I think it actually proves my credit-worthiness” Matt responded.

The investors whispered amongst themselves. After a few seconds, one of them spoke up. “Well, you are lucky that there are four of us here today, and this is the first time we’ve heard someone do such a remarkable thing. Giving away all your money just to take care of other people is truly outstanding. This shows tremendous love and humility. Most rich people don’t do that and shame on them for not using their wealth to help those in need. This product of yours is a very remarkable one and it looks like people are loving it. This is added to the fact that there is truly a need for it.’’ So how much are you asking for this product, the investor asked Matt?’’

“I’m proposing an investment of five hundred thousand in exchange for a 4% stake in the company” Matt responded confidently, squeezing his hand tightly behind his back and saying a prayer in his heart. The investors looked at each other and kept whispering for a few minutes, almost as if he wasn’t standing before them.  ‘’Well Sir, we don’t know how you will take this decision, you’ve shown you are a very hard-working man”, one of the panelists said. After a brief pause that only increased the level of Matt’s nervousness, he continued:” you are on your way to better days because WE ALL ACCEPT YOUR OFFER. With his eyes wide open, Matt covered his mouth in shock, “O Lord”, he quietly whispered. ‘’Hold on Matt, one more thing, we’ve all decided that before going into business with you, we would like to share all your debt amongst ourselves. Our reasoning is that this would make you relived and have peace of mind to really focus on this business.’’

Matt had a hard time fully understanding what he had just heard. “Wait, are you… you saying that you’re paying all my debt?”

“Correct”, one of the investors responded, with the three others nodding in agreement.

Rita didn’t know when her knees hit the floor. Is this what God can do? Her son, looking a bit confused, rushed to her side to hug her. Tears of joy flowed freely down her cheeks as remembered that moment in their bedroom when Matt told her he was giving all the profit from the business away. She profusely thanked God for shutting her mouth and helping her deal with the mixed emotions she felt on that day. “Thank you, Jesus…thank you, Jesus, …oh… thank you”, she kept exclaiming. She appreciated God for the man he had blessed her with, this is definitely a reward for him.

Back on stage, Matt was still struggling to come to grips with everything that was happening. He was jolted back to reality as he heard one of the investors call his name, “Matt, are you ok?” Clearing his throat, he responded sheepishly, ”Um, yes, sorry. I was just carried away by this surprise.” “That’s ok”, they all said as they smiled at him. ‘’You are one of a kind.”

“Thank you all so much, God bless you. And yes, I accept you all as my business partners.” They all clapped and walked up to shake his hand before showing him out of the room. Matt rushed to meet Rita, who was still on the floor thanking God. He enveloped her in a warm embrace that they held for quite some time. The organizers of the program, waited for them to have their moment before presenting Matt with the paperwork that needed to be signed. Matt and Rita smiled at each other as he picked up the pen to append his signature on the dotted lines of the documents.