Life rarely goes exactly as we plan. We map out our careers, our family life, our finances, and then, without fail, God often steps in with His own blueprint. It can be a little jarring, to say the least. Today, I want to share a raw, honest piece of my journey as an entrepreneur – one filled with turns I never saw coming and lessons in trusting the One who truly provides for us.
- Kelsey, Owner of Wonderfully Made Gifting Company
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Ever since I was in high school, I've known I wanted to run my own business. So, in March 2020, after our oldest daughter, Charlotte, was born, I felt a strong pull to be home more. By December 2020, Wonderfully Made Gifting Co. officially launched while I was still working my full-time job. The goal was that I'd step away from my interior design role to focus on my business and being a work-from-home mom. By July 2021, I left my full-time job, excited, but also nervous, for this new chapter. It was a huge leap, and one that honestly had taken years to commit to. But I finally did it. I was so proud!
Then, just three days later, my husband, Amos, was unexpectedly laid off from his full-time job. (Seriously. Three days later.)
My first thought was, "Okay, this is wild, but God has a plan." But within 24 hours, the reality hit, and the anxiety started to creep in. I tried to lay my worries down, but I just kept picking them back up. This was my very first, hard lesson in entrepreneurship: learning to trust God through the highs and the lows. Thankfully, God quickly provided for Amos, and he found a new job within a few months. We settled into a rhythm, taking turns with our sweet Charlotte while both working from home. It was a really special, fun season.
However, working from home wasn't Amos’s long-term preference. Around the time we found out we were expecting our second daughter, Mirabelle, he decided to switch to a different, in-person job in October 2022. The catch? It paid significantly less. The anxiety returned. How were we going to make this work? Suddenly, my small business carried a much heavier financial responsibility.
Those years were definitely tight. Every dollar counted. But through it all, God continued to bless Wonderfully Made and Amos’s work. We welcomed Mirabelle, and even with the constant juggling and financial tightrope walk, I always tried to remember what a blessing it was to be home with my girls, building this business.
Then came September of 2024. Amos also had a dream of running his own business, and an incredible opportunity came along to start an indoor digital billboard and marketing company here in Sioux Falls, which we now call Uplift Local Media. We prayed and talked it over for weeks. We decided to go for it, knowing it would mean taking out a significant loan – something I honestly never thought we’d do for a business. We are, to put it mildly, extremely careful with our money and have never gone into debt, aside from our home. We budget down to the dollar, prioritizing savings for our girls’ Christian schooling, rarely going out, and sticking to Aldi and the Dollar Store. Taking out this loan felt like a massive step outside our comfort zone.
And then, just a week after we secured the loan and his new business was getting off the ground, Amos had to leave his current job. (Side note: My husband has lost his job twice in this blog post, ha! I promise he's an extremely dedicated worker. Both instances have clearly been God's plan... although I didn't see it in the moment.).
So, here we were: two little girls, my small gifting company now being our bread-winner, a brand new business with a big loan, and my husband suddenly without a job.
I’m not ashamed to admit it: I yelled at God. I cried. I was so confused and frustrated. What in the world were we going to do!? In those rare calm moments, I would try to pray, "God, I trust you." But to be truly honest, I didn’t feel or believe those words most of the time.
We decided we’d push through. We’d work hard through the holidays, living off Wonderfully Made’s savings, and then reassess.
Then came January. Back in August 2024, I had started a small TikTok shop for drop-shipping books (a completely different side business a friend had introduced me to). It usually brought in a few hundred dollars a month. Nothing crazy, but it was nice to have another income trickle. But in January, it absolutely skyrocketed. Our minds were blown. I remember telling Amos, "Okay, I could not have seen this coming! This is totally God providing for us!" It was incredible… for about two weeks.
And then, because it did so well so fast, TikTok naturally shut my shop down without notice (note: that sentence is dripping with sarcasm. Don't even get me started on the frustration there.). I was devastated. Seriously? All that amazing momentum, gone. But here’s the kicker: because the shop was shut down late at night without warning, I didn't realize this until later the next morning. Which means the drop-shipping company had shipped out books all night. They sent out over 700 books before stopping. I couldn't get the books back. I couldn't get the money back.
Another loan.
I can't make this up. This side business, which had been a blessing, now cost us a sum that equated to several months of our typical household income. To say I was furious with God feels like an understatement.
But here’s where God’s incredible, undeniable faithfulness stepped in:
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I started that TikTok shop in August 2024, before we had even considered starting Uplift Local Media.
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We started Uplift in October 2024.
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Amos lost his job in November 2024.
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We took out our large loan for Uplift in mid-December 2024.
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We filed our taxes in March 2025. Because Amos had no income in November and December, and because of that loan at the end of 2024, our tax return was… within a few hundred dollars of what we had owed.
Think about that. If God hadn't had Amos leave his full-time job, if we hadn't started Uplift, our tax return would have been nowhere near that amount. And we still would have been on the hook for that money owed from the TikTok ordeal.
God provides.
Something shifted in my perspective after that tax return and the TikTok situation. This entrepreneurial journey, with all its unexpected turns, has proven to me, over and over, that God faithfully gives us our daily bread. It’s rarely in the ways we expect, and it often requires us to let go of our plans. This isn't about everything always working out perfectly; it's about seeing God's consistent hand in our lives, even when things are messy.
We've walked through so many challenging moments, times when understanding God's plan felt impossible. But when I pause, look to Him, and try to see things from His perspective and His timeline, it becomes clear: His ways are always, always better. For the very first time in my life, I feel a deep, abiding trust in God that I've never experienced before. He has used, and continues to use, this wild ride of entrepreneurship to bring me to this place.
Just six months ago, I never would have imagined saying "thank God" for Amos losing his job, or my TikTok shop getting shut down, or both of us being "forced" into full-time entrepreneurship (and believe me, there were so many mental health struggles through all of this – if you ever want to chat about that, please reach out!). But God uses our stories in ways we could never have foreseen.
Now, things are still tough, as we're both still entrepreneurs growing our businesses while raising our children, but for the first time, I'm not consumed by worry. Of course, there are still moments when the enemy tries to sow panic. But God has proved His faithfulness time and time again – throughout my whole life, but especially this past year in the financial realm. He used these struggles in entrepreneurship and in life to draw me (and Amos) closer to Him.
My greatest hope in sharing this isn't to draw attention to myself, but to really highlight God and His incredible, perfect provision. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, navigating a career change, a stay-at-home parent, or just walking through life’s daily unknowns, remember this truth: God works through our hardest times for our ultimate good. It’s tough in the moment, absolutely. It can feel unfair and confusing. But keep pressing forward.
And every now and then, look back. Can you see God’s faithful hand in your own story, even in the parts that felt impossible? Ask Him to open your eyes to how He’s providing for your "daily bread" in unexpected ways right now.
A quick note on "tight finances": I'm fully aware that as an American with a home, a car, and access to many privileges, my experience of "money being tight" is in a first-world context. My intention in sharing this isn't to compare struggles, but to point to a universal truth: the enemy has a powerful way of convincing us that our security lies in having enough money for every comfort and luxury. He tells us we're not safe, not secure, without a certain level of financial padding. But life has taught me that true security and true peace come from God alone, regardless of the numbers in our bank account. His provision looks different for everyone, but His faithfulness is constant.
Your Sister in Christ,
Kelsey
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