Self-employment, the New American Dream

I love my shop. I call it a shop because it's easier to say than kitchen, and then I'd have to distinguish between the kitchen up in my house, and the kitchen out of which I run my business. Anyway, this is my "happy place" as my friend Roxanne calls it, and she's right. I designed it and had it custom-built. I chose every stick of furniture and every piece of equipment. I made it exactly what I needed it to be, nearly 3 years ago, and big enough that I'd never run out of space - at least not for a few years.

Guess what? I'm out of space. Businesses grow if they are healthy, and mine is. I've been blessed. God and I are in business together, and He directs my steps. I tithe from my income, and give Him the glory whenever the opportunity arises. It would be an idyllic situation if it weren't for the actual WORK - lol!

Even after 7 years, I love what I do though. Each of the products I lovingly created and perfected give me satisfaction. When I can sit back after a hard day's work and look at what I've done, I can thank God sincerely for giving me the talent, the ideas, the ability, and my shop.

Yup, it is a dream all right! Enough of a dream that, when people learn what I do, they exclaim, "Oh you are so LUCKY! I've always wanted to have my own business, be my own boss, make my own hours..." When I hear that, here is what I WANT to say, even though I never do:

First, in the life of a Christian there is no such thing as luck; our steps are ordered by the Lord. Even in the humanistic sense of the word, we make our own luck. Nothing comes of wishing to accomplish something, but it does happen with research, foresight, insight, dedication, and lots of hard work. It can happen but you have to MAKE it happen. And then you have to work hard to KEEP it happening. There's no such thing as auto-pilot.
Most nights (sometimes early mornings, even!) I go back up to the house exhausted and in pain, needing drugs (aspirin usually, and occasionally a flexeril) just so I can sleep. Nothing lucky about any of it.

Second, you are never your own boss. Speaking for myself, I have a servant's heart - I have to. And I'm not the boss, God tells me in no uncertain terms what I should be doing next and how I should be doing it, and where I've messed up and what I've got to do to fix it. That's just how it is. If I weren't a Christian, I'd still be working for my customers and they (but often in less certain terms) would be telling me all of that. None of it is about me. I'm reminded of one of the bird fairs in our state where I had a table. My sister was there, and was approached by a woman who asked a question about one of my products. Gwen told her, "You can ask Sherry, she's right over there" to which the woman replied, "That's THE Sherry??? THE Itty Bitty Birdie Bites lady???? Oh I could NEVER talk to her!!" When Gwen told me, I approached the woman myself. I am her servant, if she is my customer. I've never been one to go all ga-ga over "celebrities" and certainly I'm just a housewife with a job like anybody else. It isn't what we do that's important, or who we are; it's Who we are doing it for.

Lastly...OH how I wish I could make my own hours - hahaha! I didn't want to get up when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, but I had orders to package and ship before my husband left for work at 12:30. Nor do I usually want to work when I could be playing my keyboard or watching a favorite TV show or spending quality time with my husband or even doing the laundry! And on the rare day when I don't have a bunch of orders to package and ship, there is still the paperwork to do, the records to keep, more product to make, articles to write, emails to answer...in short, the hours make ME!

Having "my own business" isn't about being my own boss or setting my own hours. (If I could set my own hours, they'd certainly be limited to 40 per week - lol!) It's about giving of myself to my customers and thousands of pet birds. It's about all the conversations I have with Jesus and the great music I listen to, being edified while I work. But mostly it's just about using the talents I was given, with a servant's heart, in my happy place.