Prayers Answered for Business Deal

My wife, Cici and I had made some giving commitments in 2008 that because of the dip in the economy and thus my income, we did not think we were going to be able to meet. We thought about skipping the Priority Associates Vision Dinner in November of 2008 because that was one of the commitments that we did not think we would be able to fulfill. We ended up attending and during the fund appeal portion we prayed about what, if anything, to pledge.  As we prayed we were led to recommit to fulfilling last year’s 2008 amount and pledge an increased amount as well for the New Year, 2009.

Of course, the market continued heading south . A very large tenant  in a shopping center we lease had called at the end of the summer asking for a rent reduction . The tenant indicated that if we did not agree to some decrease on the  lease renewal  that they would be leaving the center.  The Landlord declined their request.

The PA Administrator, Sande Day Jones, had asked us what she could be praying for us. I typically shied away from getting on her list because I felt it would be a burden or an obligation. Of course, I knew in my heart and from my experience with Sande that was not the case. It was my own pride that kept me from sharing requests in the past. This time I shared about some business things and areas that she could be praying for, including the inevitable shortfall in our giving commitments.

One of the ways I get paid is by getting a commission when a tenant renews their lease in one of our shopping centers. As it turns out the large tenant who earlier had talked about leaving sent us notification that they were executing their renewal option. The notice was over a year and half early. I found it strange to receive the notice that early because it is certainly a Tenant’s market right now and they had just asked for a rent reduction, but I just passed it on to our property manager.

The Monday after the Vision Dinner the Lord brought that news to mind and it clicked that I was probably due a commission. I reviewed the lease and our listing agreement and sure enough a commission was indeed due. We invoiced and received an amount that was very close in number (actually exceeded a bit) to all of the commitments that we thought we were unable to meet and the additional one we had made for 2009 to Priority Associates!

I know that everything, including every business deal, is from the Lord; but it is really neat when His work and provision is so obvious.