Have you ever had an experience that you somehow knew had marked you? When I was first married, we lived in a little Indiana town that had very little worthy of mentioning other than this cute coffee shop downtown. My husband was working as a counselor and I in HR at a Christian therapeutic boarding school for struggling teens. We had a heart to make a difference and had jumped in the deep end as we now, many years later, realize is our way. I was unexpectedly but delightfully pregnant, except for being very sick, and was finishing the last of my classes for my degree while working.

So, it was not a season of a lot of disposable income, but I really loved going to this shop. It had little gift shop, good coffee, and a mission. The shop employed teen moms who wanted to raise their babies but needed a sustainable job to do so.

My favorite part? The back wall of the shop was glass and there was a nursery where the moms could bring their babies with them to work. Since I was in a season of throwing up multiple times a day, I loved seeing the babies and reminding myself there was going to be something great on the other side of this pregnancy. But there was something more than that, there was a stirring. His voice that nudged my heart that this was an inspiration for something to come.

I loved the way that my cup of coffee was not only delicious, but was making a difference. I loved that business could provide real solutions to a need. I loved the whole community of love it developed. Now many years later, no comment on how many, I am amazed at the sign posts God had put along my path.