I used to believe in coincidences.
\nBut that was before I met Ann Tubbs.
\nMany people would say Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is full of coincidences \u00e2\u20ac\u201c she believes differently and I can see why.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Too many things have happened in my life for it to simply be a series of coincidences,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said.
\nYou see, Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chef by trade, but nearly five years ago she was forced to look at other possibilities when she was laid off.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I sat at home confused as to what direction I should head,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. Not only had Ann been laid off, but her husband LaRon was also seeing a cut in hours as well. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153After two weeks of feeling down for myself, I was sitting in front of my sewing machine and then I heard a voice as clear as daylight telling me \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThis is what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to do.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 The voice was so clear I had to double check the house and make sure all the doors were still locked.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nThinking she knew more than God, Ann saw this as a declaration that she was to open her own sewing business.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always enjoyed sewing and making clothes and thought this would be a great opportunity to open my own store in Salado.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nBut for the next year it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter what Ann tried, her business was not taking off as she had hoped. Without a designer label, the dresses didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sell.
\nShe tried various avenues for selling her dresses, but the sales weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t coming.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I kept getting knocked down over and over again,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But even during that time, I kept taking the best dresses to local shelters. When I dropped them off, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say to myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOh great — now look what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done. You gave away all your best dresses and now you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any money for fabric, food or anything else.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nAnn kept saving her money and buying material for new dresses all the while, imaging little girls playing and enjoying her dresses.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I felt like I could easily sell these dresses for $70 to $100 anywhere,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But I continued to have an overwhelming peace and joy when I donated the clothes to the local shelters.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nAmazingly, as Ann continued to bring 20 to 30 dresses each time to the shelter she would be told that the dress sizes were exactly what the shelter needed.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I remember vividly one occasion where I decided to create three identical dresses to take to the shelter,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I always made each dress unique, but I just had an urge to make three identical dresses. When I took the dresses to the shelter, they were amazed saying they had just received a request from a set of triplets in those sizes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nTime after time Ann kept seeing these unique coincidences and continued to offer her dresses to the local shelters as well as groups taking mission trips to Mexico and Columbia. But as time wore on, so did the strain of no income.
\nSo three years ago, Ann went back to work at Deli on the Square.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was working at the deli but whenever people asked what I did, I kept saying I have a dress and clothing ministry for children,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But working full-time limited what I could design drastically. I went from making 80 dresses a month to only 20.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nThen after almost four years of work, Ann was simply worn out.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was so tired,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann recalls.
\nShe took nearly 150 patterns she had used over the last four years and dumped them all.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was frustrated and tired,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I had drawn nearly 99-percent of my patterns and I threw them all away. I thought, now I can focus on a regular job, with a regular salary and stop worrying about where the money comes from.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nYet while Ann thought she had ended her ministry, through several more coincidences she realized this was only a beginning.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I threw all my patterns away over the weekend,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And when I came to work Monday I was in the worst mood. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to talk or deal with anyone. Then it hit me on my way home — I had thrown away a four-year long passion and ministry.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nWhen Ann arrived home, to her amazement, the trash had not been picked up all day. She immediately jumped in the dumpster and began salvaging her patterns.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It took some time, but I was able to find and repair each and every pattern.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nSince that day, Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s passion has been revitalized.
\nA letter from Columbia assured her again that she was doing the right thing.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always strived to make my dresses durable so they could be washed and dry-cleaned without a problem, but I never imagined I was making them so substantial so that young girls at an orphanage in Columbia could wear their dresses and wash them in the river without them falling apart. The letter was like God was saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGood job, way to go.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nAfter Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recommitment to her ministry she has come to a crossroads.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God is asking me to step out of the boat and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m horrified because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t swim,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t clothe the world but I believe I can make a dent in Bell County.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nHer new recommitment also brought her in touch with new sources of funding and help.
\nAfter sharing her story with one or two Kiwanis, after their Tuesday morning meeting at the deli, Ann received several large financial donations as well as tags for her dresses and new business cards.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was amazing what God was doing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m terrible at asking for help, but JoAnn Flowers and Pearl Fellingham continued to tell me, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcJust tell your story and you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to ask.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nAnd now Lawyer George Dulany has donated his time to help Ann earn 501(c)3 status and has set up a charter and by laws for her ministry.
\nThen as a way of affirming everything, God assured Ann that He was in charge and she had no need to worry.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One afternoon I was working in the deli just feeling worn and tired when a young girl looked and smiled at me as big as possible,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Her smile melted away all my troubles. I told her mother about my ministry and asked her if she would permit to make a dress for this precious girl.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nAfter exchanging phone numbers Ann designed a dress for Sara.
\nAnn had no clue who this family was but she wanted to give back a token of gratitude.
\nAfter exchanging the dress, Ann told her new friend about her ministry and as well as stories about her husband\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talent as a musician and producer.
\nAs it turns out, Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new friend had an interest in music as well.
\nHer husband, a doctor at Scott & White also had a music ministry and had recorded several CD\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that he gave to his patients for free.
\nAfter seeing the beautiful dress Ann made for his daughter, Dr. Steven Vold insisted on meeting the person who would make \u00e2\u20ac\u0153such lovely dresses for someone they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nThe Dr. Steven and Ann Vold invited Ann and LaRon to dinner where it was discovered that Dr. Vold was a glaucoma specialist for Scott & White.
\nAfter years of blindness in one eye, LaRon had begun to come to grips with the fact that he was also loosing sight in his other eye.
\nUpon learning this, Dr. Vold insisted that he could not allow LaRon to go blind.
\nDr. Vold plans to re-evaluate LaRon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case to see if there is something that can be done.
\nLaRon has also in-turn begun working with Dr. Vold on writing and producing new music at his home studio.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All this happened through a baby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smile.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nSo Ann continues on designing and sewing outfits for children she may never meet and continues trusting in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s faithfulness and ability to provide.
\nAnd you can say what you will about coincidences and fate, but as for Ann and I we believe in an easier solution \u00e2\u20ac\u201c someone else is in full control.
\nFor more information on Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ministry, Threads of Hope, call (254) 947-5498. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Matthew 25:26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I used to believe in coincidences. But that was before I met Ann Tubbs. Many people would say Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is full of coincidences \u00e2\u20ac\u201c she believes differently and I can see why. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Too many things have happened in my life for it to simply be a series of coincidences,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ann said. You see, Ann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s … Continue reading A Dis-Belief in Coincidences<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2090],"tags":[2088,2089,2092],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns-reflections","tag-belton-journal","tag-columns","tag-newspaper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pEnSo-y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}