Happy New Year from all of us here at The Catholic Woodworker. 2021 was an unforgettable year. It was a hard year. Many of us hoped that a new year would mean returning to some previous normal. It's clear that didn't happen, and probably won't. It was also a year filled with blessings. Here are some of the milestones we are praising God for today:
Eric, our Director of Operations, joined the team in January as our first full-time employee. This strategic position made it possible for us to reduce our time to production for all product lines. In November and December we had over 90% of products in-stock. This was an incredible effort and I'm so impressed with what Eric and team accomplished. This made it possible for us to equip over 4,000 families for battle in 2021!
Madeline, our Product Specialist, joined the team in June and quickly became an invaluable team member fulfilling orders, answering emails, and making rosaries. Madeline currently holds the record for most pocket rosaries made in an hour at 20!
We signed a lease in June and moved out of the garage and into a real office w/ warehouse. We celebrated mass there on July 7th and had the place blessed. 2 of our families welcomed a new baby this year, and 3 others are expecting in 2022.
There were also some failed projects, times of confusion and uncertainty, some late nights, and difficult decisions. Through it all, God was with us. He taught us valuable lessons through our mistakes, He inspired us during prayer, and walked with us daily in our work.
We praise God for all of it, for the opportunity to work for His Kingdom, and the blessing it is to serve all of you in this way. Thanks be to God we were able to equip over 4,000 families for battle in 2021.
Take some time this weekend and reflect on your own year both personally, professionally, vocationally. What were the battles fought, the victories won, the lessons learned from defeat, and the wounds healed along the way? The most important question of all: Where was God in all of that? Thank Him and praise Him for all of it.
