This is a sweet story from a friend of mine that upholstered a few chairs as seen in the posting “My Kids Grew Up on a Chair”. It’s about the power of giving and how God took a kind, simple gesture and multiplied it by 10. (God loves fabric and math, who knew!).
My name is Missy Haxton and I wear a lot of hats just like you. Daughter, wife, mother, friend, student, colleague, volunteer, professional, business owner. And in every one of these roles God has reminded me through his many blessings that HE is the Ultimate Giver.
Recently, as business owner of UpCycled Interiors – my furniture upholstery and vintage/antiques business – I was reminded of how good God is at this giving thing through the following event.
My sister and one of her close friends spent a Saturday in Noblesville “getting away” by browsing through some of the shops on the square. They visited my vintage shop as part of their day of enjoyment. I talked to my sister that weekend and she said they loved my shop and her friend had spotted a chenille bedspread which she loved…….but she didn’t purchase because their family finances were extremely tight.
The following week, I attended one of my favorite local flea markets. I came across a steal on a vintage chenille bedspread. I contemplated whether or not to buy it since I currently had three in my shop that had been sitting unsold for several months. But I’m such a sucker – I bought it, cleaned it up, and took it to my shop on a Friday.
As I was rearranging my shop, I remembered how my sister’s friend feel in love with one of the bedspreads I already had on display. I picked up the one she had admired and decided I would just send the bedspread to her. I don’t know this lady. I’ve just heard my sister mention her name for years. But I’d much rather see someone enjoy my “treasures” than have them go back into my storage room. I mailed the bedspread to her the very next day.
A couple of days later, I got an email from my sister. She said that her friend had received the bedspread that day and it was such a “God-thing”. She explained that her friend was going through a very difficult time and their “get-away” day in Noblesville was an attempt to help her escape all of the stress, if just for a little while. That day, the day her package arrived in the mail, had been an especially bad day….until she received the bedspread. She was thrilled of course to see the chenille bedspread she had wanted and she felt joy that someone she didn’t even know would care to send it to her at no expense.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that the joy I had in sharing this bedspread was so much greater than that which would have been gained through the $40 profit. God blesses our heartfelt gifts.
But He doesn’t stop there. Not only did God bless this gal, He also blessed me!
Remember how I mentioned that I had 3 chenille bedspreads that had been sitting in my shop for months? Well, the bedspread I just purchased at the flea market and put in my shop on a Friday sold two days later! We can’t out give God, can we!!
