A Priceless Gift

Not too long ago while I was still running things at Wyzerr, I had stopped paying myself a salary in order to keep the servers on at Wyzerr. Cash for unexpected expenses was hard to come by. My laptop, which was about 4 years old by then, was on it’s last leg. It was starting to blackout every few hours, and applications would freeze or move incredibly slow. I needed a new laptop but there was no way that I could afford one. I prayed for a major customer so that I could buy myself a new laptop, and shortly after, signed the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to a sizable 5-figure contract. Signing a new customer didn’t solve my problem as I thought it would. Enterprise customers take FOREVER to pay out their contracts so it would be awhile before I saw any of the money from the contract.

The Cincinnati Chamber’s market research study was to take place at several of their city-wide events so I flew to Cincinnati and stayed at my friend Christi Mitchell’s house. Christi has been the single most impactful human being in my life in the last 5 years. We met through one of my investors and quickly became close friends after we joined a Female Founders Group together. Christi is a woman of deep faith and is someone I consider my spiritual mentor. She is so wise, so gifted, so kind, and I always feel much better about everything when I am around her or talk to her. When I couldn’t afford a place to live in Cincinnati, Christi took me in and let me stay with her family for as long as I needed. She also regularly fed me and got me through one of the hardest seasons of my life. I honestly think Christi is my guardian angel.

While I was working out of her basement preparing for the research events, Christi runs down the stairs and breathlessly asks me “Natasia, do you need a new laptop?” The question came out of complete left field and I was too embarrassed to admit that I, as a CEO of a tech startup, needed a new laptop. How irresponsible of me to run a company and not have the funds to pay for the one thing a tech company requires —-a computer. I don’t think I answered the question so Christi continued on “I was just in the shower and I felt like God told me I need to give you a laptop. I have a spare laptop that is barely used. It’s the new Macbook Pro. You can have it.” I was so shocked. Nobody had ever given me such an expensive gift. But most importantly, how in the world did she know that I needed a new laptop? This had God’s fingerprints all over it and I was so grateful. I had been feeling really discouraged about where I was in my life financially and career-wise but this gave me affirmation that God still had His hand on my life. He was still present and watching over me. Three days after Christi gave me that laptop my own computer completely shut down and did not turn back on again. I was so relieved that I had another laptop to use and all of my files were already transferred to it. I am still using this laptop today and every time I log in (it still has the same password Christi had put on it!), I am reminded of how God provides solutions to my problems well before they become major problems in my life. I am also so grateful for the people He has placed in my life to help me get through tough seasons. He is so faithful!