I arrived in Houston last Thursday evening after weeks of preparations and two and a half days of driving. Honestly, I can’t believe everything that needed doing before my move got done. Since I was moving into a furnished home, I decided to donate most of my belongings to an organization that helps people in recovery get back on their feet. A lot of my furniture was given to me when I started over five years ago, so it felt like the right thing to do. The pickup was scheduled for Monday morning, but around 11 AM I got a call from Stacey, the woman I had made arrangements with, telling me some challenges had come up on her end. She wasn’t able to make it that morning but was going to try to make arrangements to come later in the day.
In the meantime, I was trying to sell the few things this organization wouldn’t or couldn’t take on the LetGo and OfferUp apps. My phone was making all kinds of dinging and pinging noises while I was finishing up laundry and packing. People were making inquiries about my old iMac computer and my bedroom furniture but no one was following through with a commitment to buy them. One woman really wanted my iMac for her kids so we made arrangements for her to drop by my apartment later that evening to pick it up. While at a goodbye dinner with my brother later that evening I received two disappointing text messages. One was from the computer lady saying something came up and she couldn’t make it. The other was from Stacey saying she was going to try again for a furniture pickup the next day. Try? That didn’t sound hopeful. Sadly, by the end of the day Monday, the only two things I had let go was my floor lamp and my faith that everything else would find a home in twenty-four hours. I was very frustrated with the whole process.
On Tuesday morning, my partner and I took a moment to pray that everything in my apartment that wasn’t going to Texas would find the perfect home. In that prayer we also surrendered to the possibility that we might have to delay our departure knowing that whenever we left would be perfect. Looking around my still very full apartment with not a lot of faith, I decided to call Faith Farm to see if they would be able to come pick up my furniture. Friday was the earliest day available. That wasn’t great news, but at least it was an option. I told the nice woman on the phone that I would have to call her back when I knew exactly what I had for them to pick up. Moments after I hung up the phone it chimed again. It was a text message from Stacey telling me she was on her way with a minivan. Seriously? There was no way all of that furniture would fit in a minivan!
But then a miracle arrived, and her name was Odalys. She was part of the crew Stacey brought to pick up the furniture. Odalys was a no-nonsense kind of gal with a leather cap, a heart of gold, and a determination of steel. Once she saw the quality of what I was donating, she insisted they take everything we were letting go no matter how many trips it took. She was definitely the answer to a prayer. Within two hours most everything that wasn’t nailed down or going to Houston was gone. She literally would have taken my welcome mat too if I didn’t insist she leave it because it belonged to the apartment complex! By 6 PM my apartment was empty and clean and we were on the road.
The final act of grace came when I received a message from the woman who wanted to buy my iMac. She was still interested but had no way to get it. That’s when it dawned on me. According to the app, she lived in the same town as one of my best friends who we were going to stop and say goodbye to on our way out of town. I told her if she was still interested we could bring it to her. She was thrilled! After a tearful goodbye with my friend, we delivered the computer to a very appreciative mom. Thus, the final object found a home just as we had envisioned in our prayer.
I reminded myself that the real miracle was not that everything found a home. The miracle was the shift from fear to love that happened when I remembered the Truth during that prayer. Everything would work out well despite all the evidence that it wasn’t. I just needed “faith, trust, and a little pixie dust” as Peter Pan told Wendy, John, and Michael when he was teaching them to fly.
Is there something going on in your life where you could use a little faith and trust? I would be honored to help you through this situation and help you see the miracle with a Life Coaching or Family Constellations session. Both can be done in person, over the phone, or via Skype. Please look around my website or send me an email for more information or to schedule a session.
Until next time, no matter how heavy the situation feels, remember with a little faith, trust, and perhaps some pixie dust you too can fly!
