I have never known how to truthfully answer the common question, “Are you a morning person?”
I guess for me it could be answered two ways:
“Are you happy when you wake up in the morning?”
Yes!
“Do you like waking up early?”
No!
Honestly, I wake up pretty happy no matter what time it is. I don’t dread the days in front of me. But do I wake up excited when it’s dark outside? Uh, NO. There is only one 5:00 and it ain’t AM in my world.
So I was forcing myself by getting up at 5:30AM for a recent yard sale on one of the coldest weekends in Arizona that we’ve had in weeks. Murphy’s Law is no joke, folks. The weather was getting warmer here and then POOF! Shivers on the day you decide to haul your junk out to the dark and dusty garage floor.
But my Dad and I had been planning on this sale for weeks, gearing up to sell anything and everything we could to begin saving money for the non-profit I believe God is calling me to build. So Dad drove over early with coffee cups in hand, and I layered every sweatshirt I own, and we set out for a great day.
What I should mention is that when planning this weekend event, my uncle had suggested we do a Two-Day sale both on Friday and Saturday. I initially said, What in the world? Who shops on Fridays? But he insisted that a lot of crafty mamas go on the hunt on Fridays while their kids are still at school, instead of Saturdays dedicated to the fam. I doubted whether or not it would be worth it to attempt an entire weekend sale, but resorted that I didn’t have a reason against it, so we would try!
From the moment we opened the door on Friday, people started showing up and didn’t stop. I was amazed. People do visit yard sales on Fridays! Who knew?
One particular woman began chatting with my Dad while looking at pieces of vintage jewelry. When I joined their conversation, she looked at me and said, “So your father tells me you’re steppin’ out in faith?”
Ok, I have to describe the moment for you. Have you seen the movie War Room? This tender soul looked and sounded exactly like the seasoned, precious black woman from that film. It was the sweetest comment! I answered her that yes, God was calling me to start my own ministry and she began to tell me about her church and her children and how her sons had been active in ministry in the past and involved in leading worship. She had a sparkle in her eye when she spoke of them serving Jesus but her eyes drifted as she looked away from me and they began to fill with tears. She told me that both her boys were no longer walking with Jesus and how heart broken she felt. For some reason, the tears made her feel ashamed and she wouldn’t look into my eyes as she tried to make them stop falling down her cheek. I made myself position to be eye to eye with her again, I pulled her into a hug and God spoke to me, She is heartsick. She has lost hope.
I told her what He said to me. I told her that she could hold hope, that she had raised them right, that she could hold fast to the power of God pursuing her sons and bringing them back to Himself. I asked her boys’ names and I grabbed her hands and we began to pray. And when I was finished praying, she began to pray for my future ministry. We eventually let go and hugged so tight, I felt like I had just ran into an old friend. That’s what happens when we meet a sister in Christ. We embrace as family.
She bought a few items and as I walked her to her car, we exchanged emails and she told me she almost hadn’t showed up for the sale. She had entered my address wrong and ended up 20 minutes east of where I lived. She looked at me with a big smile and said, “I decided, I got nothin’ better to do today, I will turn around and go back to the correct address. I was meant to meet you today!”
Suddenly I remembered that I was selling something at the yard sale that was meant for her (I had been surprised it hadn’t sold yet!) Four wooden decorative letters that spelled out H-O-P-E. I handed them to her and said, “Hmmm. This is your word today, can you place this on your fireplace or something? I want you to remember to hold onto hope.”
Hope has a name. Jesus.
Frances has no idea what she did for MY heart that morning. Her prayer awakened my spirit. Some days, I feel like a foolish dreamer and have to cling to where I see God’s finger pointing. Sometimes I feel like Noah building a boat for a flood that hasn’t come yet. I too need a reminder of the promise, the assurance, the hope.
And I love how God knew that I was meant to meet Francis while people were walking around us, rummaging through the stuff in my garage, meanwhile she and I were holding hands declaring God’s truth over our lives. While selling items that once upon a time were treasures, I was reminded of what moth and dust can destroy. But Hope is eternal.
The next day we did it all over again, woke up at 5:30AM with more coffee in hand and started another sale. It was even colder that day and we had sold so much the day before I had almost considered canceling the Saturday sale. But we decided that we had actually had a lot of fun the day before, so we set it all up again.
A sweet woman stopped by in the mid-morning and bought a bunch of stuff from us, and we were so grateful. That day had been the opposite of Friday. No activity. So quiet. Tumbleweeds tumbling.
When this woman attempted to drive away from our house, her car wouldn’t start. My dad tried to jump the car but it wouldn’t work. She had to make a call, and in the waiting, we had the chance to get to know an incredible woman who raises several kids alone and works 3 jobs. And the part that I marveled about most was her joy and gratitude for her work. She said, “I never say no to work. And I was able to buy a home for my kids.” This woman truly lived out of trust and hope and gratitude!
On a day when I could have been overly concerned about making money for my future ministry, a day when it felt like we were working at the local dollar store and practically giving stuff away (or begging people to just take it, honestly), God gave me and my dad the most beautiful opportunity to love our neighbors and love our community and to be loved and encouraged in return.
It’s on days like this that we see how human and how alike we all are, that we all have treasures and we all have trash but what we really desire is relationship and the only hope that will truly satisfy comes from loving others because Jesus first loved us.
So it turns out, I relished the waking up at 5:30AM. By noon, I couldn’t believe what a long day I could have! And I have begun to see the joy of waking up with the Son to do His work, and to hopefully spread hope wherever He leads me.