The Prayed-For Table And Other Stories

" Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."  ... Psalm 37:5


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So nearly two years ago Tom's sister, her daughter and her two children visited us and somehow, for two meals, we got six people around our 36" table.

Eegads! Do the math and that's ridiculous. Six inches of space per person. Only. Six. Inches.

But our dining area is tiny! The table fits well and we'd purchased an expensive-ish circle of glass for the top. So--what I wanted--was a 36" table with an added leaf so that, when company comes, we can remove the glass, s-t-r-e-t-c-h the table and not feel like we're eating off each other's plates. 

I didn't even want a fancy/pretty table. No, our long tablecloth under the glass covers everything. Ugly was ok.

Well, we searched on Craig's List. And searched. Oh, we'd spy one occasionally, but always in a faraway town. So we waited. Prayed. Trusted that God had a cheap nicely-priced table for us someplace close.

Fast-forward to Saturday when we visited a yard sale 5 miles away and poof! There it was--a 36" round table with a 12-inch leaf. Oh, two leafs would've been nice, but for just $10? We gladly drove it away.

Now when four people sit at our table (a normal company's-coming number), we'll each have 12 luxurious, spacious inches in which to dine.

And you can color this lady grateful and contented. And glad she kept believing.

“The little house is not too small
To shelter friends who come to call.
Though low the roof and small its space
It holds the Lord's abounding grace,
And every simple room may be
Endowed with happy memory."   ... Edgar A. Guest

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘How shall we sit around this small table?'"  ....   Matthew 6:33  (Tweaked by Debra.)  😏



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Tom hadn't asked for a full day off yet this year, so he took Friday off and we visited many yard sales and met tons of extremely friendly folks. Even after 24 years here, we're still blown away by the local kindness of strangers.

Oh, and at one sale, I found the copper-colored sunflower, above, in my new header photo of my Prayer Garden. I stuck it in the ground and loved it so much that now I want to spray-paint everything out there, copper. 😊

We even went to our local movie theater, first time in ages(!), and saw Wonder Woman in 3D which we both super-enjoyed. So inspiring--made me want to be brave, self-sacrificing and courageous. Wow. I need films like that.

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Then Saturday we drove to more yard sales and later, to this (as I wrote at Facebook)--


If you felt the earth shake (or something similar), it's probably because Tom and Debra actually got out and did something *different* today. :) The local SPCA had a big outdoor event and Naomi's band played there, plus there was a car show, pie eating contest, vendors, police horses, dogs on leashes, a cool breeze and we had milkshakes in the shade. So nice!

And now we both smile as we recall that happy Saturday hour with all its bright festivities. How lovely to make a different choice sometimes, to stretch ourselves a bit, even though we do love our normal, as well.

(Though yeah, I forgot my camera. Darn!)

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