In God's Time

I love yard sales.  Items I love and I'm not really sure why are bowls, rustic, hand-thrown pottery, and tables.  I like to look for other items, but for some unknown reason, those are the three subjects that catch my eye, first.  My house isn't congested with a dozen tables stacked with pottery and bowls.  But if it were a bigger house, there probably would be a table or two in the additional rooms and yes, some pottery would find it's way onto the tops.  I used to buy small tables (end tables, tables that you can put a flower on) and paint them.  I would either find a room to put it in or give it to a friend.  Two years ago, I found an older coffee table that I had no room for and really no time to do anything with, but that little voice was telling me 'buy' and so I took out my five dollars and bought.  After several unsuccessful attempts at finding it the 'right spot' in different rooms and the front porch, I ended up putting it in the basement.  I never forgot it was there and every time I went down would glance at it and toss around the idea of painting it or making some tile mosaic on the surface.  It never happened.

Around that same time, I was at another yard sale and bought for $20.00 this beautiful leather reclining chair.  It is not huge, but just right for the small living room and because it reclines, it allows for more space.  I wanted to replace this black leather chair that my mother had bought from her sister-in-law many years ago when they (her in-laws) were moving to a smaller apartment.  She gave one to me and kept one.  It was a nice chair but I had to buy a small ottoman so that you could stretch out in it and that took up some needed extra space in the living room.  So, when I found the other chair (that was in excellent condition) I was really happy.  The new chair looks great, but I had to find a place for the old chair.  I put it in the dinning room turned study until I could find it a home.  When my son found a place, I asked him.  He said that he didn't need it.  I had offered it to another friend when their son moved out.  He said that the new place was already furnished.  So, that black leather chair sat in the dinning room for two years. It made the space cramped but, there it sat. 

Last week, a friend of mine's husband who has found work here, rented an apartment and needed furniture.  He sent a text out to friends and family.  They are on a tight budget now, with two households and didn't want to spend a lot on furniture.  Of course, when she called me I knew what pieces he was going to get.  I cleaned up the table and had both sitting in the foyer waiting for him.  He picked it up, yesterday.  He wanted to be assured that I didn't need them and I told him that I think I bought the table and chair for him two years ago and have just been storing it for him. 

That's what I felt like.  As though God knew this was all going to be needed in the future and had me store it until the right time.  God's time.  That kind of thing has happened before to me, where I buy something and don't use it right away, almost forget I have it, until one day, it is the perfect solution to some problem.  It doesn't happen a lot, but it has happened.

It has been that way with my experience with addiction.  I have been so anxious, worried and stressed through this whole ordeal.  Trying a lot of the time to control outcomes and get life back on my terms/time, not seeing the bigger picture.  I will never know why this all had to happen.  Having said that, letting go and letting God work in His time has made me realize and see what good can be harvested from bad.  God's time has allowed me to become more aware, more understanding and a little more patient. It is still a work in progress, however, understanding that I don't know the big picture and that I'm not 'steering the ship' but am only a passenger has given me the opportunity to stand with the wind in my face and appreciate the ride and what it has had to offer.  I'm still working on the acceptance of it all and the whys still pop up, but as long as I remind myself that, "All things work together for good to them that love God..." I can reset my watch to His while I watch and wait.