Match Made

A short story

As an inspiring hair stylist, my dream is too be able to have my own salon. However in the meantime, I want to start small to reach my goals. I have been praying to God for an opportunity to come my way. I am so tired of doing hair out of my house. I would love to be able to rent out a booth somewhere if possible. I’ve been looking online weekly for any open booths to rent, however I haven’t received a chance.

One day I received an email for an open booth in an area that I was not familiar with. Also the price they were asking for rent, was a little out of my price range. However out of curiosity, I decided to just drive by the area to take a glance.

Surprisingly the location was only 10 minutes from home. Although I never knew a salon was back there, the place seemed to be popular! The next day I told myself to take a chance tomorrow and find out more information. The next morning I went back to the salon and proceeded to go inside. Once inside I saw various other occupied booths of hair stylists, nail techs, barbers, eyebrow techs, lash techs, food vendors, etc. You name it! The empty booth was located right in the front- it was small, yet enough room for one stylist chair, a sink and a dryer. I thought to myself, “God this would be prefect for me! It’s enough just to start me off.” Even though I knew the price was out of budget, I took a leap of faith and jotted down the contact information for the space. As I was walking out, I heard a lady’s voice say, “Excuse me? Are you interested in that booth?” I turned around and said, “Hello! Yes I am, but I was going to call and get some more information first.” “Well, I am actually the one to conduct business for all these spaces! I just saved you a phone call!” We both laughed. “Would you like to come to my office to discuss?” “Yes, ma’am!” As we were walking I said a silent prayer. “Lord, please be with me. I don’t know what to say in this moment but I trust you will lead the way.” Upon sitting, the lady stated, “So tell me about yourself.” I took a deep breath and replied, “My name is Crystal Simmons, I have been doing hair since I was a little girl. I obtained my cosmetologist license 2 years ago as well as my LLC. I am seeking this booth to rent as a starter experience onto my goal of owning a salon. I currently do hair out of my parents house, which can be an inconvenience at times. I am in school to get my business administration degree, as well as working part time at the mall. Although my schedule sounds busy, I am hard working and dedicated to my goals. I want to better myself and I know I have to work in order to get the things I want. I believe that God gives me strength to be able to accomplish all things.” “Wow, that’s an impressive story, young lady. However my concern would be , is this rent price suitable for you?” “Honestly ma’am, it is a little high, but I would be willing to pick up more shifts at work or even change my prices on doing hair, if need be.” “Well, there needs to be a guarantee that rent will be made. We also have other requirements in order to rent here, I will give you a packet. If you would like a tour, we can do that really quick. I have other business to attend,” she said in a dismissive tone.” “It’s ok, I need to get back home soon, I have an assignment to do. I would like to leave my business card here and I do appreciate your time,” I replied. “Sure, it was a pleasure meeting you,” the lady said, as she was looking at her phone. “Thank you, nice to meet you as well.” Upon walking to the car, tears begin to form. I felt dismissed and not noticed. I started to regret telling my full story because the lady didn’t seem too have too much confidence in me. The whole car ride home my heart was filled with doubt. Also I realized the lady never gave me the packet like she said. I started to wonder, was it just a simple mistake? Or was it because she didn’t want to give me the packet?

Once I got home, I turned to the two options to help me out of my funk- scripture and prayer. I looked up Bible plans that focused on finances and doubt. After reading, I was encouraged to not worry about money because God knows what I need before I even ask. He will take care of my needs and provide for me. I also learned not to depend my whole life on money, but to honor God with what I do have. I prayed, “God if this is your will for me to have this booth, then I trust that you will allow me to be able to maintain the funds for it. God, I even ask that you make a way to lower the price for me. Work a miracle for me according to your will!” All I can do now is believe and wait on God.

Weeks went by and I still had not heard from the lady at the salon. Even when I reached out to her, I got no response or a call back. I could feel my hope trying to decrease but I knew through prayer and scripture, faith would increase. After much praying and courage, I decided to go back to the salon to see if there were any updates on the suite. As I approached the building, I noticed the window to the suite was blocked off. As I walked in, I could hear the sounds of hammers and drills. I also could hear the sound of the lady in her office frantically talking on the phone. I waited outside the door for a few minutes before I decided to knock. Knock knock.

“Come in.” “Hello, how are you? I’m not sure if you remember me,” I replied. “Yes, Ms.Simmons. What can I do for you?” “Actually I wanted to drop by and see if there was any new updates on the suite. Has anybody rented it out yet?” I asked with hope. “ Well honestly things have been difficult. A couple of my pipes burst and I need to get it all fixed before this inspection coming up in a few days. The burst has caused a lot of damage. Unfortunately, I have to hold off on renting the booth out for awhile. Although I do have some worthy prospects that are interested once everything is done,” she replied. “Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that about the booth space. I do hope you consider me once repairs are done,” I said. “Sweetie, I’m going to be honest with you. You are a young girl who seems to be well on her way but there are a lot of people who have been in this industry longer. Most of those people have a steady and stable lifestyle. I want to be able to trust my vendors in order to keep this building up and running,” she said in a half hearted tone. “Yes, ma’am. I understand but I promise that I will work just as hard as someone who has been in the business for 20 years. Please don’t count me out,” I pleaded. “I will keep you in mind, I hope you have a good day.” “Thank you,” I replied as I walked out. This time instead of the feeling of tears coming, I felt a sense of peace overcome me. I knew right then and there the situation was in God’s hands.

Over the next couple weeks I took many faith filled steps in order to keep my spirits high. I prayed and read scripture daily. I went on fasts and received prayer from my church. I even rode by the salon a couple times and prayed for the space to be mine one day! I started to thank God for blessing me without even having the prayer answered!

However, there were times as I was doing hair at the house, I would feel little spurts of sadness because I just wanted a bigger space. After while I decided to settle with the fact that my prayer just may not be answered. However, I didn’t give up on my dream of owning a salon.

One Friday evening, I told God, “Even if you don’t allow me to get that rental booth, I pray that another opportunity opens up for me to get closer to my dream.” Right then, a shift changed in me. I could feel myself growing spiritually. Instead of getting mad about the fact that possibly God wouldn’t answer my prayer, I accepted it. I knew God heard my prayers. I also didn’t give up hope of the lady calling me.

About 2 months went by, when I got an unexpected phone call. “Hello?” I answered. “Hello, Ms. Simmons, this is Debra from Salon Suites on McIntyre. How are you doing today?” “I’m doing fine, how are you?” “I’m doing well, thank you. I know we don’t know each other well, but I could not stop thinking about our interactions and there is something about you that intrigues me. I wasn’t going to call you but last night around 9:00 pm, I felt like a pull on my heart and your name kept popping up in my head surprisingly.” Immediately I remembered that 9:00 was the same time I said that prayer last night. Wow God! “Are you still doing hair and working at the mall?” she asked. “Yes, I actually have a client coming soon.” “Well, I have an opportunity for you. I would love for you to come work with me 2 to 3 days a week. I don’t run a salon but running this business is close enough to it! I can show you everything you need to know and pay you well for it. I will pay you just enough or more as much as you make at the mall. Also if you show me that you can work hard with me then the salon booth is yours once renovations are over! I will lower the rent price for you. How does that sound?” “Oh my goodness! Are you serious? This is the opportunity of a lifetime! I accept your offer! When can I start?” “I figured you would say yes,” she laughed. “Let me get paperwork together and I will call you sometime next week,” she said. “Oh, yes one more question. When we first met, I remembered you mentioned God?” She asked. “Yes, I said God gives me the strength to be able to accomplish all things -that is from Philippians 4 and 13,” I said proudly. “Wow, it’s refreshing to see such a young person be able to voice their faith. Where do you go to church?” She asked. I knew in my heart that this moment was nobody but God. I get to share information about faith and church! Also, who knows where this opportunity could take me further into owning a salon? This was a winning situation! I waved my hand in rejoice toward the sky as I continued the conversation.

Just at the right time God can do more than you expect. He can open doors that you didn’t even ask for. Having a holy, righteous and faithful lifestyle is beneficial. God is a rewarder and He is faithful to His promises. I have prayed for specific things and got them, but then there were times where I didn’t get what I specifically asked for. Regardless, each answer was a blessing. I learned to be content in whatever God gave me at the time. I also learned to never give up faith in what God can do. Maybe it’s not the season for what you are seeking. Maybe God needs to touch the hearts of others in your situation like He did with the salon suite lady. We just have to know that God will take care of all things and we can do ALL things through Christ who strengths us.

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭