how onyx was born

One year ago today, I was in the mountains of Mentone, Alabama. I had a notebook, pen, and some time to think. My wife was at a professional development retreat, and so I had time to go up in this cabin to write, think, and dream.

I'd just come off of a huge ribbon cutting with Tile Liquidators. I had poured a lot of time and energy into promoting the grand opening, and I knew this was a perfect time to take step back. I went into this intentionally. I brought some books, my journal, my laptop, and some questions. I had a plan. I was determined to maximize the time that I had there.

One of the main questions that I asked was, what if I poured the same level of energy that I did into that ribbon cutting into other people's businesses? What if I started my own thing? I started writing, the plan was long and ambitious, and honestly, I didn't really believe that what I had written would actually come about.

That mountain top experience took place one year ago today. The name for the business didn't really come until another nine days later, during an all night brainstorming session. The name we landed on was Onyx. It was bold, intriguing, short, unforgettable, and that's exactly what we wanted. It also fit our style and personalities, we're always in black and we don’t mind being different. The name also took on deeper meaning as we read about it in Genesis 2:10-12:

“A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.”

Onyx stone was in Eden before the fall, in a land of abundance and goodness. Further biblical study, shows that the stone is a symbol of priestly mediation, the burden of spiritual leadership, and God's enduring covenant. Known in Hebrew as Shoham, it held high value in ancient Israel and is frequently associated with remembrance and divine craftsmanship.

I have to acknowledge the key figure who is behind all of this, and that's God. We can barely keep up with all that God is doing and has done. We’ve signed clients that I used to dream about. We had a three-way ribbon cutting with two of my friends. We got our own studio space, but the biggest win of them all, it's the look on our clients' faces when they see their business treated the way they always knew it deserved, and that's the work that we do.

One year ago today, I was up in the cabin in the mountains of Mentone. Fast forward one year later, and we're here today in our studio. It reminds me of that verse in Scripture that says, "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly and exceedingly than all we can ask or imagine." He is the one who's carrying us and sustaining us, and he's doing this work in us.