The 1st weekend of June was the weekend I’d planned on having a joint garage sale with my friend. I spent two weeks gathering personal and donated items from friends, church family and colleagues. I mean, I spent hours each day dividing, organizing, packing, cleaning, etc. so that it would all look fabulous for my garage sale. I even got some artistic students to make some awesome banners!
And then the big day came: June 7th. I had to get up really early and pack up the Toyota Tacoma that a friend lent me plus another friend’s truck plus one load in Eggbert (my lil’ white Ford Fiesta hatchback) and it was finally time to set up the sale and lay out all of my awesome stuff.
I’d planned to make $500 easy. I had everything that I was told make a garage sale a success: baby clothes, kids clothes, CDs and DVDs, shoes and furniture. With the help of my friends, we were able to get it all set up and looking nice before our first customers came.
At first there was a slow trickle of customers, a few of whom actually bought stuff. And as the hours ticked by, it became more and more apparent that nobody else was coming. Nobody wanted the mountains of baby clothes I had or the 3-piece living room set, dinette set, baby carrier, patio furniture or desk w/ a chair that I had lugged across town.
In fact, nobody wanted anything! Out of probably 50 DVDs, nobody wanted one. Out of dozens of CDs, one was bought(a MercyMe album too! so that was cool). The only books I sold were books 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the Harry Potter series. And NONE of my own clothing or other donated adult clothing sold.
After hours of just sitting there and waving at cars, hoping they’d stop, I was done. I was over it. I’d made approximately $85 total. I felt totally, completely let down and disappointed. My first, legit fundraiser for World Race was a total bust. Talk about embarrassing.
But see, here’s where God comes in.
Prior to the sale, I’d been praying that God would grant me good weather, lots of customers, lots of people with whom I could not only share my World Race story , but with whom I could also share the Good News. And I specifically prayed that I’d make $500. Well, here’s the awesome part of my garage sale fiasco story: 2 days before the sale, I received a check in the mail for $500 from a childhood friend. Yea, amazing right!? God’s such a show off! 🙂
So I was stoked to get it and felt like I’d make another $500 and be riding high with $1,000 in one weekend. But as we all know, that didn’t happen. But what DID happen is even better.
After my epic fail of a garage sale I was mad. I mean, MAD. But as I angrily packed up all of my stuff, I was hit with the truth that I believe God was trying to show me when I got the $500 check 2 days before the sale:
My provision come from the LORD alone, not from other people. He was showing me that I was putting too much stock into the customers and not enough into Him. I asked and believed that I’d get $500 but, if I’m honest, I wasn’t thinking of it in terms of God blessing me with it, I was just thinking of it in earthly terms of people doing what I wanted and buying all my stuff at the prices I’d decided upon. But God showed me that it is in HIM that I should put all my hope and trust, not in other people. And he showed me that by answering my prayers through a completely unexpected person.
So, with that realization in mind, I immediately turned my frown upside down and decided right then and there to donate every single item that hadn’t sold to Good Will or the Salvation Army. And that’s exactly what I did. I was able to bless people with furniture, baby clothes, kids clothes, adult casual and business clothing, shoes, books, etc. and I did so cheerfully because I wanted others to feel as blessed as I felt when I got that check from my friend. So in the end, it was a win-win situation; I got the $500 I’d been praying for and I was able to bless others with furniture and clothing they really need. Sweet, right?! I’ll high five to that!
Which brings me to point #2 that the LORD showed me through the garage sale fiasco:
I have to focus less on what people can give me or do for me and more on what I can give or do for others. Which sounds so simple and basic, but in this crazy “me first” world, it’s easy to forget.
So, was the garage sale a total failure? Yes, without a doubt.
But the lessons learned from it will undoubtedly stay with me forever. God answered my prayers but He didn’t keep me from going through a very rough, disappointing situation. Instead, he used the disappointing situation to teach me, grow me, and love me.
Have you ever had a bad situation that, in hindsight, turned out to be a teachable moment or blessing in disguise? I hope so. But if not, keep your eyes and your heart open the next time you’re in a difficult situation and just stop, breathe and look around; you might be surprised to find God at work in the midst of your hardship.
