Miss July 2014, Dorothy Johnson

Have you ever experienced a divine appointment—found your day blessed by an unexpected heart connection with someone? It happened to me last week when I dropped by Saltwater Cottage to meet one of its owners, Julie Condon, and to get her picture for a post about shopping along Florida 98. When I visited the cottage a couple of months back, Julie wasn’t there. Although her partner, Tom, welcomed me and answered my questions, he told me Julie was the inspiration behind Saltwater Cottage and insisted that I come back to meet her and hear her story.

Tom and a sampling of Saltwater Cottage treasures

It was almost time for us to head home to Arkansas, so I didn’t make it by again that week. However, I remembered our conversation and had planned to make a second visit during this trip. When I realized I had left my notes for the blog in Little Rock, I knew it was meant to be. I didn’t mind because I had fallen in love with Saltwater Cottage and was happy to drop in again.

Julie and shop pooch, Izzy (Isabella)

I must tell you that Julie proved to be as charming as her surroundings. As she shared her adventure of faith, I understood why Tom had been so adamant that I meet her. Julie’s journey began around Thanksgiving 2008 when she and her Sunday school class were challenged by her pastor to get back to observing a regular quiet time with Jesus. One morning during a walk on the beach, she told the Lord she wanted to serve Him in whatever capacity He chose. She’d just poured out her heart, saying she’d share her trash if it would help someone else get rid of theirs, when a large sand dollar washed up at her feet. The surf often scatters their fragments along the Gulf beaches, but Julie had never found a whole sand dollar before.

That sand dollar became a sign to Julie—a sign that God had heard her prayer. However, instead of things getting better, for a time, it felt as though He was shaking her to dislodge all that trash she’d invited Him clean out. The details are Julie’s story to tell, but a ministry to others was born from that season of soul cleaning. As women with similar wounds were drawn to her, Julie began to consider the possibility of creating a place like Saltwater Cottage where she could minister to others and share the Good News. With Tom’s encouragement, she began to take steps in that direction.

After negotiations on a space on Navarre Beach fell through in 2011, Julie noticed an abandoned cottage on Highway 98. She and Tom stopped to inspect it through shattered window panes and found a neglected building without floors. But Julie saw beyond the decay, and although she didn’t have the financial means to restore it, she had a vision for what it could become. She felt led to call the owner and tell him if he’d provide the materials, they would fix it. He agreed and the work began. Six months later, on Mother’s Day weekend 2012, Saltwater Cottage opened its doors for business.

The shop is a mix of shabby chic beach décor, jewelry, soaps, scrubs and both gourmet and down-home food.

I couldn’t resist these bracelets. One is engraved with the words “faith sees the invisible, feels the intangible, achieves the impossible.” The other reads “protect this woman.”

As I watched Julie share her faith with customers in a natural, disarming manner, I understood why people are drawn to her. A couple of friends stopped by to visit—one, a member of a prayer group called The Twelve that grew out of the ministry, told me she just likes to hang out at the cottage. If I lived here full time, I’d be a regular, too, because Saltwater Cottage is a place of God’s love, light and healing.

Julie’s prayer group gives away these blocks as a reminder that someone is praying for you. I was delighted to go home with one.

Julie told me they pay for everything as they go so she can walk away anytime God calls her to another task. But after watching her in action, I pray Saltwater Cottage will become an enduring fixture in Navarre.

If you vacation on the panhandle, be sure to drop by Saltwater Cottage. You’ll be blessed. And tell them Dorothy sent you.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Col. 4:6