“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 CSB
When we have faith, we move forward in life. When we believe God is with us, God is for us, not against us, it allows us to do His work. God has always guided my career, when I look back over my life, I can see how He has been intricately involved in every step, even when I didn’t know it at the time. Just like when I got an email from my business partner, Martha in the winter of 2015 that changed my life. I had left Nautica in January and was taking time off work to grieve the loss of my Mom and Cody. Martha emailed me in February and asked me if I’d like to train to be a tennis coach for children 10 and Under. I said, “Sure, why not? I’m not doing anything else.” Long story short, that is how our partnership began. A year later we formed Hampton Roads Tennis Academy. We just finished our fifth year of teaching. We teach all ages, children through adults. God used Martha to help heal my broken heart. I can not put into words how much she means to me, how much our friendship means to me, how much I love her.
I love having a partner because they have your back. I always know Martha has my back, I never doubt that because Martha is a woman of her word. She does what she says she will do, she shows up when she’s supposed too, I can trust her. I love having a partner because they help you share the work. Martha handles all of the emails, phone calls and front end or our business. I handle all of the back end, the books, website, etc. When one of us is gone for a week, no one misses us more than the other. Being partners allows us to share the load, neither one of us has to do it all by ourselves. I love having partners because they understand exactly how hard it can be some days, because they’re in the trenches with you. When the heat is scorching, the kids are whining and your feet are hurting, they know exactly what that feels like. Partners can sympathize with you like no one else can. I love having a partner because together we make better decisions and hold each other accountable. Martha double checks my work for me. When I create fliers, she helps me design them. When we run a promotion, she helps me decide what’s best. We make all of our decisions together, and together we make better decisions. I love having a partner.
We all have partners in life, whether business or personal. Our spouses are our partners. We find partners at work to keep each other going, partners at the gym to help us perform at our best, partners in life that help us get through the tough days. We need partners to keep us going, and our greatest partner is God. He knows all, sees all, loves all. When we partner with Him, the sky’s the limit.
I’m thankful for partners today. What are you thankful for?
