“I grew up in Citronelle, Alabama. It’s a close-knit small town where everyone feels like family. My parents purchased our building on Main Street when I was ten. My mom was a cosmetologist; we turned the front into a beauty store and the back into a salon. Me and my sister were there every day. Our summer days were filled with working in Mom’s store, walking around the block for ice cream, visiting the library, going two doors down for art lessons, and taking dance lessons up the hill.

I went to college in Mobile and met my husband. He joined the military, and we moved overseas when he was stationed in Spain. We stayed there for three and a half years and found out what it took to slow down. Stores closed in the afternoon so people could spend time with family or enjoy beach views. When we moved back home, we tried to bring those special elements here.

About seven years ago, my parents asked if we wanted to purchase the building from them. We agreed and started making payments. We turned the back into a print shop and the front into a boutique. We had only a few thousand dollars left to pay it off—my parents surprised us at Christmas and blessed us with the deed.

COVID hit shortly after, and we struggled to keep the store afloat. My husband used his paychecks, and I sold customized face masks to keep the doors open. It was stressful. Finally, I said, ‘We own the building. I’ll just go home and raise the kids.’

So I went home, and God started doing major work on me as I tried to figure out what my place was.

I hadn’t been thinking about the store, then one day I needed to grab something from the building. I’d been reading the story of Saul. His parents sent him on a journey, and he walked right into becoming the anointed King of Israel. God had prepared a table and set everything for him. I was on my face, crying out to God, ‘Guide me into what I’m supposed to be doing.’

That day, a lady knocked on the door and asked what we were doing with the building. I said, ‘God wants us to create a space for people, but I don’t know what that looks like.’

Then an older lady came in looking for clothes. She got a phone call and started crying and praising God right there in the store. The first lady looked at me and said, ‘God’s getting ready to deliver some people here.’

I went home, and God gave me this name: Manasseh Moments. It’s from Joseph’s story in the Bible. His Manasseh Moment came when he stopped letting his past keep him from running after God.

That’s what this space is for. People walk in with layers on them, but God removes the bandages and heals their scars.

We were getting the vision, but didn’t have the money to remodel. Step by step, God said, ‘Just follow me.’

We opened on January 24th of this year. We called it Migh-Tee Design, after our Christian T-shirt company my sister helped me name. It was just a place with free coffee for people to gather God’s presence. People started asking us about creating a real coffee shop.

God kept leading, and we turned this into a coffee shop a few months ago. I didn’t look at a single coffee recipe. Just: ‘God, you got me this far. How do we make it?’ This was like cooking with measurements of love. A year ago, I didn’t see any of this; now I’m a full barista.

God told me, ‘This isn’t self-taught. It’s spirit-led.’ Everything from the floor to the ceiling, including the coffee, is spirit-led.

I’ve been through a lot. Growing up, I heard, ‘You’re too dark, what’s wrong with your legs, why are you like this?’ I had third-degree burns from a too-hot bath as a baby; there’s still skin from my thigh grafted onto my foot.

Then in 2010 I was in a car wreck and ended up in a wheelchair for six months. They said I wouldn’t walk again. My boyfriend, now my husband, came to my parents’ house at five o’clock every morning to be there for me.

I was so independent. Suddenly I had to depend on others. I questioned God. But it taught me to trust Him. That’s why I can relate to anyone who walks in this door. My life hasn’t been perfect either, but we can make it.

People crave connection. Before we opened, God told me to gather books, highlight verses that stick out, and put them on the shelves for others to read. Now customers bring books that they’ve highlighted. My mom’s first Bible is on the counter with notes from her, me, and now my customers. I want you to feel like you’re my sister or brother.

We also have a prayer room in the coffee shop. Every morning I walk in and ask, ‘God, what do we do today? Let my steps be your steps.’

Then I open the door.

Our coffee’s just an invitation. This coffee shop and the folks who walk in are all God’s. Through every step of this new journey, He has placed the right people/friends in our lives to help us.

I get to sit in the passenger seat, put up my legs, and let God drive. I don’t know where we’re going, but when God says to go, we’re moving.”

Chavell

(Might-Tee Designs is located at 19183 N. Main Street in Citronelle, AL)