New Reminders: Turing Points

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal, when Bernie Marcus died on November 4, 2024.  Most of us wouldn’t recognize his name, but we are all familiar with the company he helped found––Home Depot.  Marcus and his business partner, Arthur Blank, became friends and colleagues while working for Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers in the early 1970s.  In 1978, both men were abruptly fired by their volatile boss who called himself Ming the Merciless.  Losing the security of employment inspired Blank and Marcus to start their own company.  Their first Home Depot opened in 1979 in Atlanta but it didn’t have immediate success.  The article said that they put empty boxes on the shelves to make them look fully stocked and had their wives and children offer $1 bills to anyone willing to visit the store.  Within two decades, Home Depot was the dominant home-improvement chain in North America and it now has 2,300 stores that employ 475,000 people.  Handy Dan, on the other hand, went out of business just 12 years after Home was launched.

Getting fired at age 49 was the catalyst for Bernie Marcus’ financial success and it reminds us that a when something like getting fired can be a turning point in one’s life and an opportunity for a new beginning.  The good news that we don’t have to wait for a disaster to befall us in order to look for what God has in mind for us.  We can pray for guidance anytime we feel God nudging us in a new direction.  We have all faced natural turning points, such as when we graduate from college, or are entering any new stage in our lives.  For example, when our kids are grown and are ready to leave for college or new jobs and we become empty nesters, when we retire, or when a spouse dies, our children or grandchildren need our support or we ourselves need help and so on.  These are the times that teach us that life goes on and we can rely on God to show us how we can meet these moments with grace and renew our reliance on Him. These are times when we also need to rely on God’s promises to give us strength and courage to adjust to each new circumstance.

The bible is full of encouraging words to show us the way. Philippians 4:13 tells us: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us: “…with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self...and to put on the new self.”  Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” And Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” reassures us that He has amazing plans for us, even in times of change.