Man Plans, God Laughs

New here? This series traces how WayMaker Fabrics began. In Part 1, I shared how a $50 sewing machine and a friendship with my neighbor laid the groundwork to what eventually became WayMaker Fabrics. 

"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

By the time those first years of sewing were behind me, fabric had gone from a hobby to something closer to a love language. Life kept moving too. I had a second child, taught myself more with every project, and fell even deeper in love with fabric. Over the next few years, I joined all the sewing groups, found a fabric company I adored, and graduated from taping pattern pages to using a projector, a total game changer. My niece came to live with us, and I spent the COVID years sharpening my skills and growing my fabric stash.

One afternoon we were on a drive and my husband turned to me and said, "What do you think you'll want to do once the kids are in school and you go back to work?"

I don't know what came over me, but this thing that had been niggling in the back of my mind for a while popped out. "I don't know, I was thinking about starting a digital fabric printing company." I immediately wanted to snatch the words out of the air and stuff them right back down. What was I thinking? I am not capable of owning a business, I told myself. I am intensely hurt by criticism, my math skills are lacking, and every day feels like my first day on the internet. 

Business ownership was not in my plans.

But my husband, entrepreneur and mathlete that he is, grabbed onto that idea and ran. While I tried to backpedal, at least six times in that one conversation, he had already started forming a plan in his head.

He had a mission: research. Could this really be possible?

While he researched, I prayed.

Prayer

I prayed to ask God if that idea was from Him. I asked Him for confirmation. I asked Him for a business name, a building, funding, location, customers, artists, suppliers, everything. You name it, I prayed over it.

The First Answered Prayer

A name. Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name. That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet was questioning whether a name really matters. But in Scripture we see something different. Names carry meaning. They mark identity, purpose, calling. God constantly uses names to reflect His glory.

So, when I asked Him for a business name, I didn't take it lightly. I wanted one that would reflect who He is and give Him the glory. After all, the business was His, not mine.

My prayer was simple. "Lord, if you want me to do this business, you need to give me a name that is a head nod to you." Immediately the song "Way Maker" started playing in my head. I said, okay, the name is WayMaker.

I can't stress enough how small my faith felt during this time. Truly, it was a mustard seed. I laid down the fleece more times than I can count, constantly asking, "If that's You, God, will You?"

Next: Confirmation After Confirmation, where a sermon at church, and a promotion, confirmed what I already knew in my heart.