Chapter 72
Lawson was indeed a strange city. One particular day a young gentleman came in and was frightened to death. He was concerned for his life, because he had become a Christian, and he said a local coven of occultists were trying to kill him. He wanted advice on how to pray and ask for god’s help in escaping the area. I had no doubt about his sincerity. The look in his eyes was shadowed with fear for his life. He wanted to get out of town, pronto!
The new-age/occult bookstore and my coffeehouse both had their front doors in the same alcove. One sunday after church I took my family to the coffeehouse to pick up some items. My sons were throwing a rubber ball in the alcove against the bookstore’s wall. I asked them to stop. As I looked out the window, I noticed the bookstore was closed, and the lights were off. I told the boys to continue playing since they were closed. My son Kevin said, “Dad, they’re not closed. There is a group of people sitting in a circle in the dark around some candles!”
They were doing their best to run me out of town. As I mentioned earlier, when I arrived in Lawson, glen had informed me that Lawson had one of the largest occult covens in the nation. Therefore, I was not surprised that the Lord brought me to this town, and made this coffeehouse a part of my intense spiritual training.
The coffeehouse also served as an excellent training ground for me in other areas. It enabled me to learn a new business with on the job training, which included making gourmet coffee drinks, cooking, and serving food. I met many, many interesting people. I developed a tremendous love for people by being there every day, listening to their problems, sharing in their accomplishments, all the while making friends. I look back and say “Bravo Lord! you did the right thing; I hated it, but you did it anyway. You knew what I needed.”
One particular day, when I was at my wits end, god sent a friend from church to visit me. I shared with him my heart’s cry, so he prayed for me. When he prayed, it was as if a thousand pounds of pressure were released from me. I have no doubt god drove back the spiritual forces of darkness that were being marshaled against me. A short time later, the Lord revealed to me the ordeal was over. I put the coffeehouse up for sale, and god sent a buyer.
For eleven months the Lord had allowed me to operate from the cash register receipts. I never took a paycheck and never made any money, but every bill was paid, and god had used it to develop a new level of character in me. A little tip—god loves to and is intent on developing character in His children. A nice couple from Kansas City purchased the coffee house. It seemed as if everyone was surprised that I was able to sell it. Everyone had been informing me that I would not be able to sell—that these kinds of small businesses simply “go out of business and close.” yet I felt that if the Lord could get me into the business, He could also get me out of it, if it was His will, and it was. I was so elated when this couple bought the shop. They asked me to stay on for a week to work for them since they had to relocate to Lawson. They agreed to pay me, so after that last week I made my first paycheck! Praise the Lord. When we closed on the final day of transferring the business, I walked away and gave a glory shout, thanking the Lord for seeing me through that ordeal. There’s no doubt that god had another couple He desired to put in His crucible!