Have you ever been so overwhelmed with gratitude?

I mean to the point where you find yourself emotional and have no choice but to raise your hands and say, “Thank You.” 

That moment for me came after a three-and-a-half-year financial battle where I personally guaranteed just under 1.5 million dollars and had finished paying every single creditor. Those three-and-a-half years were also filled with many dark moments, personal lows, and self-reflection. I was sitting by myself at a restaurant being served a morning tea when my mind began to race with an overflow of thoughts. I was thankful for my incredible family and friends who supported me during this challenging time and championed my comeback. I was so grateful for my beautiful wife standing by my side and staying committed to me and our marriage. I felt blessed to have three healthy, amazing children who were 7, 6, and 3 years old. I had a beautiful home, and my business was booming! As these thoughts raced through my mind, I was physically overwhelmed, like a marathon runner at the end of a race; if I hadn’t been sitting in that chair, I would have fallen to the ground.

The restaurant was full of people. I was so engulfed in this moment and what I felt that I raised my right hand and said in a quiet, emotional voice, “Thank You.”

At that powerful moment of gratitude, I felt guilty. Guilty, I had been so blessed, so I asked God, “What can I do for You? I truly believed the only reason I was able to pay off every last dime of the money I owed was because God sent me every client and opportunity. I never owned it as my own and always gave praise to God and thanked him. I brought many people to Christ just from their admiration for what I accomplished because of my faith in God. As I sat in the busy restaurant, with these thoughts in my head, I quietly said, “I want You to tell me what I can do for You.”

In the loudest inner voice, I heard, “You have been blessed with talent and for over 25 years you have built global brands for business and now the time has come to brand Me.” At first, I thought it was just me saying it in my head as my own answer but, then I felt like He was smirking at me and saying, “I’m serious, it’s time to brand Me.” Not an actual rebrand of course but I understood what He meant and I said, “Okay!”

That following hour I had a client pitch and they asked me how I knew this specific person. I said, “Oh, he’s a great friend of mine now, I met him before he was on TV , and before he was famous on Twitter (now X)! We taught him the difference between an “@” symbol and a “#” symbol. I laughed quietly in my mind, looking up and immediately typed it on my laptop. There it was, as clear as night and day, the tiny hashtag symbol written in plain Helvetica Bold, smiling back at me; the cross was “always there.”

I, like you, will never be able to look at the hashtag symbol and not see His cross #Forever.

- Joe Paonessa -