We sorted. We priced. We made signs. We prepared. We advertised. We even checked the weather one last time before heading to bed. They were forecasting partly sunny and 70's.
The forecast changed overnight.
I had prayed about this sale. The profit would go towards the cost of our adoption. I was in high hopes of a nice sum of money to put into the fund.
The cooler weather and rain left me disappointed.
I was reminded that God could work, even in the rain. My attitude brightened and off we went to sit, coffee in hand, waiting to watch God work.
The day was long, cold and miserable. We cleaned up 30 minutes early. Everything, including us, was completely soaked. The rain had set in for good.
We counted the money and I was once again left with disappointment. We had not even cleared the $100 dollar mark.
We loaded the items left and prepared to haul them. We have a number of thrift stores in town. One specifically is run by the local mission.
The money they make goes to the mission. The people who work there are from the mission looking for another chance at life. They are given a job as a way to help them get back into society.
Donation
I watched as they unloaded our items. Items that once held a place in my home. Items that were supposed to bring money for us.
As I watched each item be carried into the store, I couldn't help but think about what these items might now mean for another person.
Perhaps they would provide a job for a person desiring another chance. Perhaps my items would be the ones that would generate that next dollar to provide another warm meal on a cold, rainy day such as the one we were having.
What if the yard sale wasn't for me or about me and our needs at all? When praying about the sale, hadn't I asked God to work and move according to what He had planned? Hadn't I asked Him to help these items be a source of blessing to provide for another? I thought that meant our adoption process.
Perhaps I was off in my thinking. As we drove away I was once again filled with hope. It just may be that my things could be more of a blessing in that store than the few dollars could have been in our hands.
God must have another plan in store for adding to our adoption fund, and His plan is obviously not what I thought it would be.
Sometimes God places us in situations we need to be in, whether we know it or not.
ReplyDeleteThat garage sale may not have been God's plan for you- but His plan for someone else with those "leftovers".
And sometimes, garage sales can be not about the making of money, even for good reasons. They can be about cleaning out the clutter in our lives and our hearts. You know, the whole storing up our treasures concept...