Faith & Hope & A Rummage Sale
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11
2024 was the year of my retirement from paid employment meaning I was “ALL-IN” for the fall Rummage Sale. Little did I know how faith and hope would provide answers to immediate problems and future needs.
Nancy Grose and I were at the church on the Saturday before drop-off Sunday. This has always been our normal day to organize and price any furniture that arrived early. All was proceeding smoothly until Nancy called me into the Great Hall to point out a HUGE problem. ALL the upright pieces for our clothing racks were MIA. These pieces were stored by professional movers, so Nancy immediately called. She learned the uprights were NOT there, and had never been received into inventory from our previous storage company that went out of business.
Fear immediately raised its ugly head. Many calls were made to personnel from the previous movers and GPUMC members. The challenge loomed: Can we actually have a Rummage Sale without the needed equipment? The quick answer was not without a little panic, but once again God led us all to a solution.
Church members Diana and Lauren Sancya arrived, and frankly I don’t remember why they came. Once the situation was explained to them, Lauren pulls out her phone and locates a business selling portable racks at basically half-price. The business owner was contacted and responded immediately letting us know they had a large supply.
At the same time, Bill Kremer and Kevin Braye arrived to deliver furniture for the sale, and saw a very distressed Nancy and vowed to help with a solution. They immediately volunteered to get the racks on Monday as soon as the business opened. (Yes, that meant they would rent a vehicle that could transport the racks.)
Nancy called her UMW Co-President, Tamara Baubie, who arranged to borrow racks used at another area church for their Rummage Sale. Kevin and Bill again volunteered to get these racks after our Sunday service.
Once again, our village came together. What was initially viewed with distress and defeat turned into opportunity:
- A conversation began between area churches on sharing resources and storage needs for our Rummage Sales.
- Replacement racks were purchased. These racks were not as sturdy, but were far more portable and could be stored in the GPUMC Garage.
- UMW now saves funds as monthly storage fees cease.
- Rummage Sale Department Heads accepted the delay of racks and proceeded to organize until the new equipment arrived.
- After the sale was over, the garage was organized and space was created to store our new racks.
- And finally, the Fall 2024 Rummage Sale was the most successful ever.
While our faith was tested, it served to focus our attention on the purpose of the Rummage Sale, on the Joy of working together in spite of obstacles, and on the Peace that comes with creating a workable solution.
Yes, God is Good….and He always provides us with a hope-filled future.
Carolyn Franklin
No comments:
Post a Comment