Tuesday, June 13, 2017

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.)  ๐Ÿ˜



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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. ๐Ÿ˜Š

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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2 comments:

Betsy said...

How fun! I'm glad you were able to find a table that will work for you. Sometimes I search and search on craigslist and then find exactly what I want down the street. That's what happened with my Hoosier cabinet that I found a couple of years ago. I have been looking for years on craigslist and I walked down the street and said hello to the neighbor and spied it in her garage covered up with a sheet. She had been trying to get rid of it to downsize, but didn't have a truck or anyway to haul it to a secondhand shop. She is a widow didn't want people coming to your house to look at things. God works in wonderful ways doesn't he? I'm glad you had a wonderful weekend. I hope your day today is lovely my friend. Blessings, Betsy

Debra said...

Betsy--loved hour Hoosier story! (I think I've loved every Hoosier I've ever seen. heh.) And yes! It really is amazing how often things work out with more of an 'ease' when we wait on God. I'm still learning that and must remind myself often. :)

Thanks, Betsy!