This weekend I got to be part of a garage sale with a few of my friends who have also been scouring their homes for unused, unwanted, or overabundant items. My friend hosted at her house and we had a great time!
I spent some late nights over the last few weeks rummaging through my house looking for items to sell, pricing the items and packing them up, then hauling them over to my friend's house to set up for the sale. The alarm clock seemed to go off far too early the last few mornings and I felt I needed an IV to get caffeine into my system more efficiently! However, despite the exhaustion I have felt this last week (and feel as I sit here trying to type!) it was SO MUCH FUN!
Minnesotans know that the summers in our state make up for the harsh winters, and the two days we held our rummage sale were prime examples of perfect Minnesota summer weather. I got to sit outside with my friends all day, relaxing in patio chairs under an umbrella and enjoying the gentle summer breeze with temps in the upper 70's. Above the sky was blue with a few crisp white clouds. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
A few weeks ago I started praying for our sale. I prayed not just that we would earn some money from the items we had to sell, but that there would be people who would come who would find just what they needed at a really, really good price. I wanted to meet the needs of others. I wanted to bless others. Within the first 15 minutes of the sale we got to see our first answer to that prayer. It continued over the course of the two days. A teenage girl found a TI-86 graphing calculator she needed for school for only $3. A woman struggling financially found some very affordable kitchen items and some free cleaning products. A couple who had just purchased all the needed ingredients for stir-fry meals found a wok. A man found a Princess Bride DVD and was so excited because he and his wife only had the VHS (side note - he looked JUST like Cary Elwes, the main character in the movie! When I told him this he said that's why his wife married him! Awesome!) There are so many stories of people finding just the right item I can't remember them all! It was incredible to see the people who stopped by our sale find items that were really special to them.
I got to work with some very generous people. My friends are amazing. Time and again I watched them lower the price if someone asked or give away an item for free. Sure, we all were happy to take home some extra cash, but what we liked the most was giving our stuff to others who would use it and enjoy it.
Friends who lived nearby (or not so close too!) stopped by to say hi. It was delightful to see a familiar face stroll down the alley to our sale. I got to catch up with a few friends I haven't seen in awhile and hear what they've been up to.
I brought home money to add to our adoption fund. I feel blessed and excited to make another transfer into that fund. We don't know yet who will join our family or when, but we're getting ready for when that time comes.
I did NOT bring home as much stuff from the sale today as I hauled over to the sale on Wednesday. That is a blessing! Over 400 pounds of stuff left our home rummage-sale-bound. I don't know how many pounds returned, but it was considerably less!
What a fun experience. Even though my body is aching and my eyes are heavy, my heart is happy and I will cherish these memories for a long time.
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