070713 Friday Focus - Martha Hawkins

She overcame the demons of severe depression - and with odds all against her, she has seen mountains moved out of her way in the world of business. Martha Hawkins is a first hand witness to what God can do.
Martha Hawkins says that her ministries "exist to share hope with the hopeless and give advantage to the disadvantaged through the love of Jesus Christ." She and her co-ministers "do this by encouraging, motivating, teaching, training and empowering people to bring about change in their lives from the inside out."
She is a native of Montgomery, Alabama and is the youngest of twelve children. As a child, Martha routinely watched her mother, Sallie, take a single stack of fresh vegetables and turn them into a feast. She would soon learn her mother's culinary style and by the time she was twelve, she became consumed by her dream of owning a restaurant.
As a single mother, Hawkins did not have an easy road to travel and at times, experienced daunting difficulties. Martha was a victim of clinical depression for several years. She was committed to a mental hospital after attempting suicide by taking an overdose of tranquilizers. While in the hospital, Martha was proscribed numerous prescription drugs, including a new one called Prozac. It was at the depths of her hospital stay that Martha began reading the Gideon Bible that was on her night-stand. As she opened the Bible, it fell open to Isaiah 6:1-4, which reads, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and opening the prison to them that are bound." The message from God to Martha was clear and she began to turn her life around. Shortly thereafter, she returned to public housing and welfare. At the age of 31, by all standards, her life was still extremely bleak. Although many times she became despondent, she fell back upon the strength of Isaiah 61. Through prayer, faith and hope, she persevered and renewed her dream of owning a restaurant. Being an uneducated black female from an economically disadvantaged background, Martha knew that she would face obstacles and barriers. At this point, she decided to take charge of her life and vowed to fight her way out of poverty. However, she always believed she could overcome those obstacles and barriers. Martha attended a program at Alabama State University where she earned her GED. She also attended Troy State University where she took a course in counseling to enable her to help minister to others. Next came the overwhelming task of acquiring financial backing to open a restaurant. Hawkins sought financial assistance from area banks and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Unfortunately, all rejected her application. Refusing to give up, she once again pulled out her Bible, and "looked unto the hills," from whence she received her help. She knew that her faith and commitment to the word of God was the source of her strength. Martha began speaking victory and prosperity in the midst of poverty and her dream began to materialize.
Hawkins took a job cleaning houses. through her employment as a domestic worker, she met an attorney named Calvin Pryor. She shared her dream of owning a restaurant with Pryor and he consequently provided a two-story frame structure house built near the turn of the century to house her restaurant, free of charge until she could afford to pay the rent. Martha went to yard sales, became a carpenter, painter and wallpaper expert. She visited restaurant, talked with many their owners and learned all she could about the restaurant business. Martha was assisted along the way by several people, and notably, through the contributions and support from the Montgomery Black Women's Leadership and Economic Development project. Despite many difficult days, Martha kept her faith in God and, in October 1988, opened Martha’s Place Restaurant and Catering. Since that time, Marth’s Place has remained opened and served people from all walks of life, including renowned stars such as Whoopie Goldberg, Sissy Spacek, Walter Mathau and Angela Bassett. Her restaurant is a nationally know stop for anyone who visits Montgomery, Alabama and a culinary fixture of life for permanent residents of the city.
Martha Hawkins, a single mother, an overcomer of mental illness and poverty, is highly favored by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - as is everyone. It is not where you are from, or how you got to where you are, but whether you can keep the faith and step into your God given promise, that makes the ultimate difference between failure and success of poverty and prosperity.