08/26/2026
Last week was 6 years Brandi and I have been here! We’ve shared this before but it’s worth another share.
If you think the worst days of your life have no end in sight, you’ll never see out of the valley you are in, there’s no way things could improve, that’s a lie from the devil! We are proof that bad days are just a season, good days are ahead!
Years ago I built houses and Brandi worked for a construction company. We bought a big tract of land wanting to subdivide it, develop it, keep some for ourselves. Life was good, dreams were coming true! Then one day it wasn’t, just that fast! I had built a house and it become obvious I wasn’t going to get paid on the home, we had paid all the vendors and contractors already. The people moved in the house, sued me. Not only did they sue me they sued my dad who had come up to help me finish it, but had no reason to be involved other than their spite.
Attorney fees start adding up, depositions, delays, discovery, we were falling behind on financial obligations. We sold our boat, then our house, moved the whole family in with my parents, sold our camper, sold my truck, took kids out of activities. We quit hanging out with friends because truthfully they didn’t understand. We grocery shopped with credit card points, dreaded Brandi’s favorite holiday, Christmas! For years I didn’t take a paycheck, I just paid attorneys, Brandi was the bread winner. Life was BAD, terrible actually!
Lawsuits are mentally and physically exhausting. The stress, worry, unknown of what tomorrow holds. Sleepless nights turn into sleepless weeks, sleepless months! Civil suits take forever. I had to defend myself, my character. I had to counter sue to try to attempt to recoup some money on the build, possibly collect attorney fees back.
If you’ve seen some of our FB reels you can see I have a gift of having no filter, saying what comes to my mind, Brandi especially loves this gift 👀. About 3 years into this nightmare, one Sunday headed home from church, we passed Dawes Hardware and I said “I’m going to buy that store.” Brandi laughed, I laughed, we kept on driving home. We were so broke we couldn’t pay attention, but this was definitely the Lord planting a seed.
These times of trouble in life, dark valleys, are a chance we wouldn’t have in good times to draw close to Jesus, to grow in our faith. When he’s all you have, you realize that’s all you need! Brandi and I stayed faithful and obedient, not knowing where that would take us.
I got a truck again. A hooptie work truck that smelled like the 93 year old man that had it before, but it was a step forward! Brandi was still bread winning and I was still building, we were still broken. We kept taking things day by day, the lawsuits dragged on for years, we were stagnant, in a funk, exhausted.
One day I was in the hardware store and told Mr Steve he should sell me the store. I couldn’t afford it, it wasn’t for sale, he laughed and kept on about his day. Few weeks later while shopping I mentioned it to him again and he said “here’s my number, call me after 6.” So I did what anybody with that opportunity who was broke would do, put his card in my console and left that alone. I did tell Brandi about the interaction though.
Probably a month later I came home, still at my parents house, one evening mad at the world about still building, still paying attorney fees. Brandi said “well, it’s your fault, you never called Mr. Steve.” I replied that we were broke and had no retail experience. She replied “either quit complaining about building or just call him.”
I called him, we met. They were interested in selling, the store was actually listed for sale privately through a broker. The Lord’s timing is normally not our timing, but it’s always on time! We were given a price, we couldn’t afford it, but that didn’t stop us from pursuing it. We weren’t discouraged for some reason, we just kept looking for opportunities to make it happen.
We didn’t have enough money, no retail experience, we were in a lawsuit and banks shy away from those liabilities, we had no house, I hadn’t had a paycheck in years, we kept on pursuing it anyway.
During us pursuing a purchase Mr. Steve and Mrs. Jean Ann received a better offer, less bank headache, and no owner financing required. They declined that better offer, not because we were the best deal, but because the small seed the Lord planted in me about “I’m going to buy that store” was being worked out by the Lord leading the Crigler’s to work with us instead.
Every door that needed to open, opened. Every approval needed we got. Every interview passed. The down payment money we didn’t have, the Crigler’s owner financed. All this was slow, but it was happening!
August 2020, we closed on buying the store. The same month we got a little house of our own again. That valley didn’t seem so deep anymore.
August 2026. 6 years later looks a lot different. Dawes Hardware is much busier than 2020. Our kids are back in activities, we aren’t grocery shopping with credit card points, lawsuits were favorably settled. So many of you customers have become friends. Employees have become family.
Your worst times aren’t what define you, it’s just character building opportunities, like diamonds being formed under pressure and heat. My God restores people from brokenness and bankruptcy. He leaves the 99 to chase after that 1 who is lost!
I share this hoping it reaches someone down, discouraged, depressed. I’d never want to relive those troubled years but I’d never want to give up the wisdom and faith we gained walking though them either. Keep your head high, keep moving forward, pursuing those opportunities, seek the Lord, better days are ahead!
This picture is our driveway now. It leads to that acreage we bought. Every time we were close to not being able to keep it, something worked out in our favor. A real estate agent who knew what we were facing listed the lots, got buyers lined up, then let us sell each lot “by owner” to save us the commission fees. We could never repay Nancy Green Nassar for her kindness! This picture, our driveway, is a daily reminder that great things ahead are often down a long and narrow road in life!
