Another Story ... Another Miracle ...

You're probably tired of furniture stories by now, but it's really not about the furniture ... it's about the Story of God's Faithfulness and love ... and how He wants to bless us in the smallest details of our lives.


When we brought the children home from Ghana 3 1/2 years ago, we bought a new dining table to fit our ever-expanding family.  We found a great deal on Craigslist for a solid oak table with 3 leaves (which expands to 108").  We LOVE the table.  However, the table only came with 4 chairs.  


Shortly after buying the table, I found an ad in the newspaper for $5 chairs from a Cafe that had re-decorated.  So, I sent Jim right off to the city to buy 14 of the $5 chairs.  They've been good chairs.  They've held up well to our high-traffic dining room.  But ... they didn't match.


Now, our furniture style has always been a totally eclectic mix of hand-me-downs, so matching really hasn't been a problem.  But, when I started looking at solid oak hutches to match my solid oak dining table and 4 chairs, I thought, "It might be nice to find some solid oak chairs to match."


A friend of mine has been looking for a solid oak table, but she didn't need the chairs.  So, a shopping we did go ... driving hither and yon to Craigslist listings.  I did find some chairs that I liked, but the tables weren't really what she was looking for.  And, the chairs and tables are always sold as a set.  We both went home empty handed.


I continued to look for a set of table and chairs for a really good price, thinking that maybe I would keep the chairs and re-sell the table.  Finally ... just down the street ... I found a beautiful oak table ... with 3 chairs.  Three?  Really?  I was looking for at least 4, and hopefully 6.  But, 3 was just not going to work for me.


The very next day, I was working around the house when I suddenly told the kids, "I'm going to go visit the antique stores downtown."  It has been years since I had visited those particular antique stores.  In the first store I walked into ... right by the front door ... sat 3 solid oak chairs.  Seriously?  3.  Yes.  3.  That were nearly identical to the 3 that were being sold with the table down the street.  


I quickly emailed the people with the table set, and offered them a bit less since it only came with 3 chairs.  They accepted.  I raced down to the antique store the next morning right when they opened, and made a deal for their 3 chairs.  By that evening I had a beautiful solid oak table (which expands to 96") with 6 chairs for at total of only $175.


I probably could have sold the table for that same amount, but decided instead to keep it.  Our Family Room has always just had an old picnic table from Grandpa's cabin for game playing and school work.   Now, it has a beautiful new oak table ... with 6 of the old Cafe chairs around it (since the 6 new oak chairs are in the dining room with our original 4 chairs).


And, just to even out the Re-Decorating balance sheet, we sold 6 of the Cafe chairs for $40.


Isn't that crazy?  Have you ever seen chairs sold in sets of 3?  How about 2 nearly identical sets ... for sale the same week ... in the same little farming town ... just a few blocks apart.


Only God.