Where did "Fortress Forty-Six come from?

In long form: It began in 2018, when a specific song really moved me spiritually for the first time; it was a rendition of Psalm 46. 

In 2019 I attended a school in Bali, Indonesia to learn more about God and biblical living, and a few days into it someone was praying for me and they felt very strongly God was reiterating Psalm 46 verse 5 for me (which is “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”)

Then a few months later someone completely different who didn’t really know me was also praying for me and they too felt strongly that God wanted me to remember Psalm 46:5, the same verse from before. 

A month later I was praying on my own about my upcoming trip to the Philippines and asked God what He wanted to tell me, and all I heard over and over was “Fortress. Fortress. Fortress.” And of course, a fortress is a strongly fortified area of protection and defense against attack. 

(Now keep in mind, throughout this entire trip I had been going through a lot of personal growing pains, a lot of tough relationship building; learning how to trust, how to love, and be loved properly; I had to break down the thick stone walls around my heart and get acquainted with vulnerability; I had to let go of many fears and begin healing from a lot of  hurt in my past - so learning and knowing God was a safe place and trusting Him as a Father to take care of me and lead me in the right direction when things were new, scary, and hard was quite monumental for me. That trip was hands-down one of the most difficult things I have EVER DONE).

So I kept hearing “Fortress. Fortress. Fortress.” And so I prayed deeper, "what do you want me to take away from that?" And I kept hearing “Psalm 46” as the answer.

So I opened my Bible to Psalm 46 and wouldn't you know, the title of the Psalm is “God is our Fortress.” I had no idea that was the case! The whole psalm is about how He is our refuge and strength, that He is with us, and even in the midst of uncertainty and chaos He will keep us safe.

Fast forward a few weeks and my beloved got a similar message for me: Look deeper into what 'fortress' means to you. 

Then a week later, the Sunday after New Years Eve, my team and I went to church and they passed around a basket filled with little folded-up pieces of paper with verses written on them, and told us we could consider them our verse of the year. 

Once the basket was passed to me, I reached in, took out a verse, and passed it on. I opened the paper up only to find Psalm 62:6 was my verse of the year. Guess what the verse says? “He only is my rock and salvation, my FORTRESS; I shall not be shaken.” 

Again, fortress!!! At this point I was thinking "This is wild."

Later when I actually arrived in the Philippines they made each of us a welcome card and left it on our pillows. Mine had Isaiah 43:2 “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Again reiterating His protection.

So bumping into "fortress" or His protection once or twice I would have written off as a coincidence, but THAT many times just seemed too clear and too divine for me to ignore. 

And so when I wanted to open this shop I began brainstorming for catchy and meaningful names, and after just a few short seconds "Fortress Forty-Six" came to mind - it rolls of the tongue, and for me it represents hope and security no matter what you're going through. A beautiful reminder that God is a covering of protection, peace, love, truth, justice, and goodness.