By Fran Marx
How would I make it through the summer? As I looked around the mall from my kiosk, that thought kept running through my mind. I had been in business for almost nine years. During that time, the mall had peaked, sold, and was now on a quickly descending spiral to its demise. Rumor had spread that the mall was being sold to be demolished, making room for a strip mall. Merchants were leaving each week.
I was at a point where I was working more hours so that I could pay my employees and my bills. I was taking no salary for myself. It was the beginning of May, historically one of the slowest months of the year. Five more merchants had closed their businesses. I had plenty of prayer time during the day because of my lack of customers. One day I asked the Lord, “God, how can I make it during the summer and through to December, when my lease ends?” I felt impressed with the Scripture: Psalm 91:7 which says, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” I immediately felt a sense of peace even though I still did not understand how I would make it. I only knew that I would.
I had a close relationship with all my customers, so seeing the condition of the mall, they were worried about my future. I would come to work happy and all day long, out of their concern, they would inadvertently plant seeds of doubt in my mind. I would go home beaten down, my husband would encourage me in God’s promises, and I would return to work ready to face another day. This roller coaster continued for a couple of days before I realized how to stop it.
I printed a copy of the verse the Lord had given me and placed it on my counter at work. When a customer came in and expressed doubt about my future, I would point to the Scripture and say, “I don’t know what I will be doing after the mall closes, but I do know that I will be alright.” Some would walk away shaking their heads in disbelief and some would encourage me, but I never went home discouraged again!
As the summer went on, I told the Lord that I wanted to go out of business in style. Merchants had been leaving in the middle of the night. Most were embittered and angry, but I wanted to go out with a smile on my face and bringing glory to God. I never could have imagined what He would have in store for me.
During one of my workday prayer times I asked the Lord how I could possibly accomplish my goal of ending my business on a bright note. I received the image of the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-38). It is a story of how God does the impossible to show that He is the one true God. I was really excited! My next question was, “How would God do this?” In a short time, I was given the first part of my answer.
One segment of my business was selling lottery tickets. About a week after my prayer, the lottery called to inform me that they wanted to sponsor a huge promotion at my store which included a mock TV game show, a wind machine where customers would grab for lottery tickets, and a spinning wheel filled with prize options. While on the phone, I looked around the mall at all the empty stores. Since I was familiar with lottery promotions I knew that in themselves they did not bring in the numbers of customers that would warrant a promotion of that size. If fact, in my nine years of business, I had never seen a promotion of that magnitude.
My inclination was to say, “Sorry, but the mall is like a ghost town and the promotion would never work here.” But remembering what the Lord had shown me, I did not want to miss a blessing. So rather than expressing my initial thoughts, I recommended that the lottery call the mall manager. I said, “If he approves, then it is okay with me.”
Of course, he approved. The date was set for November. For the next couple of months, I struggled with not telling the lottery that the mall was basically empty. Rather than speaking with the lottery officials, I kept holding onto God’s promise.
Toward the end of October, I thought of giving my customers an invitation. I handed out invitations to my “Going out in style” party and told them that there would be a lottery promotion and free coffee and cake for customers as long as the cake lasted. As the date approached, the lottery happened to roll over two or three times making the jackpot higher and the possibility of customers buying tickets more probable.
The day finally arrived. The party was supposed to start at 10:00 a.m., but by 9:00 a.m. the crowds started to gather. As the day went on, there was a continuous flow of people everywhere you looked. The spirit of joy was incredible! Everyone was having a great time. The cake that was supposed to feed 80 fed more than double that amount. My end of mall was filled with people all day long. In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak to everyone from a stage. I thanked my customers and the Lord for the nine years we had together in the mall. I told the people how much I appreciated them and thanked God for His presence during my time in business there.
As if to put a cherry on an ice cream sundae, one of the most memorable and rewarding moments was when an older customer came up to the kiosk to speak with me. He said, “Do you know why I came to your business everyday for nine years?” I responded that I didn’t. He said, “Because each day, you were the only person who would smile at me and touch my hand. If I ever needed prayer, you were there for me.” His comments really touched my heart and showed me how God was working through me during those nine years in the mall. I thought I was there just making a living.
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