"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." ...Ephesians 4:32
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Tom locked me in the car this morning.
We'd driven through some scary neighborhoods with tall, neglected early 1900's houses to find an estate sale while I
We finally parked and I told Tom we'd better lock the doors considering where we were, so he quickly locked his, closed it, then took off across the street while, still in the car, I checked for my keys.
Then I tried to open my door. Couldn't. Pressed the unlock button. Didn't work. Reached over to use the special King of the Car unlock button on the driver's side, but it did nothing.
Oh my! I was locked inside.
I glanced back at Tom who'd been waiting at the corner across the street and made a "Help! I can't get out," gesture with my hands and arms, after which Tom turned away and walked toward the estate sale house.
What the ???. Well, I calmed down, figured perhaps if I place the key in the ignition the doors would unlock--and they did. I was freed!
Of course, as I stepped up to the rickety porch, I determined to seek out Tom and give him a piece of my mind, but oh my. Once inside that 100 year old house which had zero updating and looked worn and tired the way a baby does after she naps--I fell in love. Forgot all about Tom (Tom who?) and instead, peeked into the coat closet (with silty dust along shoulder tops of wool coats) then climbed the stairs to the three bedrooms and a hallway, all with different 1950's wallpaper. And original windows and floors and two cedar closets with ancient dresses. And rows of old books and old dressers and linens everywhere.
My favorite kind of house, the kind that scoops me up and cradles me all the rest of the day and helps me understand why little old ladies in nursing homes escape to the 1940's in their minds. (I think I may grow up to be one of them.)
And it makes me long to tweak my own house so that it feels Time Capsule-ish old, to think about 'things which are of a good report' and more determined than ever to forgive Tom, everything. :)
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Oh, and it turns out that Tom was too far from the car to see me gesturing helplessly, plus, we have those dark windows. And he hadn't realized that locking his door would lock me inside. He'd thought I'd changed my mind about going inside that ancient house(!), so that's why he went without me.
Silly man.
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My favorite find today? This thick (heavy!), delightful 1943 cookbook:
Oh my. The woman wanted only a quarter, but I gave her a dollar, telling her, "I'll walk away feeling guilty if I don't." Wow, the many color photos like this one (forgive its sideway-ness, please.):
... and others like the one at the top of this post. We could have gone straight home after that sale: that book made my day.
Other books I've found at yard sales recently?:
(Click to enlarge. The bottom center book is a 1960's gardening encyclopedia.)
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Oh! And this week our Brita pitcher went crashing, splintering and splashing water all over our stairs when I accidentally hit it while unfolding our ironing board. Gah, I was upset with myself for not being careful.
Anyway, I priced them at the supermarket this morning and eegads! They wanted $24. Ha! As if I'd ever pay that.
Well, just three hours later Tom found a Brita pitcher at a church rummage sale for $1. Yes. I can drink water again without feeling like I'm risking my life. :)
Some of our friends laugh at yard sales (and us yard-sale-loving-folks), but clearly they just don't get it. And we'll see who gets the last laugh. heh. God's ways of provision are endless and how foolish to place Him inside tiny boxes!
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(My heart believes that, but my common sense wonders....)
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2 comments:
Scary to be locked inside your car. I am glad it turned out all right. And I'm also glad you find some wonderful distractions in the house you were visiting so you didn't let Tom "have it". God send sus grace in these types of situations I am sure of it!
Jan--thanks! I was pretty glad that it wasn't a hot day. :) And yes! Isn't God great to send us grace when we're tempted to 'go off the deep end'? Blessings, Debra
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