We recently asked a young student at the local Catholic school for help with designing an ad for O’Brien Insurance for the school’s yearbook. Below is a wonderful letter our friend, Julian, age 13, wrote to us about his experience. We love stories like this. You never know when and where inspiration will strike.
I was totally surprised and pretty sure my jaw hit the floor when John (O’Brien) asked my mom and I if we wanted to be the ones to design ‘his ad’ for the school yearbook. “Seriously, can we really do that,” I thought.
Oh yes, I knew we could do it, and I already had the idea of covering the page in O’Brien Insurance accessories! Now we just had to think of the perfect setting, background, wording, and… well, I guess there is a lot more to making a business ad than we thought. My mom and I both had some really cool ideas and we wanted it to all fit together. We came up with some catch phrases and fun photos, but something was missing and time was running out – the ads were due in a few days.
That night when we went to bed, as we were saying our prayers, my mom mentioned that we had not yet given this ad over to God in prayer. She said, “All that we have and all that we give is a glorification of God’s love for us. Without Him, nothing is possible, but with Him grace and mercy flow without end.”
The next morning we woke up late and we were rushing to get ready for school. It was cold and rainy outside. Mom went out to start the car to let it warm up, thankfully she had an umbrella, an O’Brien Insurance umbrella. Losing no time, we sprinted out the door and tossed our bags in the car. Mom sat there for a moment and stared at me with a strange grin. Maybe she thought it was funny that I was gonna be late for school, but I certainly didn’t.
“Get out of the car,” she said. “What? Are you kidding, we are going to be late,” I said.
“No! This is it! We’ve got to take the picture now, you know for O’Brien Insurance, it’s God’s perfect timing!” she said.
The car was covered in rain drops, the lights were on, I was wearing my SMSA school uniform, and O’Brien Insurance accessories galore, all in the photo! This ad was miraculously coming together! Later that evening we uploaded the photos and started editing. The simple, yet strong message of O’Brien Insurance protecting me and essentially all of their clients, naturally came to us as we looked at the umbrella covering me in the photo. Now we just needed ‘The Boss’s’ approval.
Thankfully John loved it as much as we did.
I just really want John to know how much creating this ad for O’Brien Insurance has meant to me. What started off as a business proposal for our SMSA yearbook, has turned into a fun, faith-filled appreciation for the wonderful blessings that only God can give us through trust, prayer, and love of neighbor.
God Bless you John and O’Brien Insurance. It has been a pleasure doing business with you!
