Yard Sale

This weekend was all about the yard sale at our house. Our daughter, Elizabeth, moved home last weekend and spent the past week sorting through the accumlation of her 23 years of living in order to get ready to move to St. Petersburg, Russia for a year. Whatever she earned from this sale would go towards her ministry support as she heads over there to teach conversational English to university students. But most importantly, she is going to share God's love with them.

Her bedroom, and our living room and dining rooms were the staging area for sorting through memories, represented by all the "stuff" she has accumlated. And like most of us, she was amazed (and at times, distressed) at just how much "stuff" there was!

After countless hours of sorting through what was going to stay and get boxed up for a year, what was hitting the trash can, and what would be worthy of the yard sale, Elizabeth finally set up shop bright and early on Friday morning. For two days she greeted neighbors as well as strangers who came to see what "treasures" they could find. And with each item that sold, there was a sense of lightening the load and loosening the ties.

As I sat with her on Saturday, I thought about how much "stuff" is still in the house. That nearly gave me a panic attack! But the truly wonderful part of the weekend was not just the clearing out of unneeded items, but seeing the wonderful people who were willing to come along side of her in her ministry. Neighbors contributed items to be sold. Others paid extra because they knew how the money would be used and they wanted to support the ministry. Still others offered wonderful stories of friends and family members who were already ministering in Russia and Ukraine. My heart just swelled as I recognized God's hand through each of these people that he brought to our yard.

One of the most exciting encounters happened when a mother and her college-age daughter came to look at some golf clubs. When they started speaking to each other, it was in Russian! I had been in the house when they arrived and when I came back out in the yard, Elizabeth was beaming! It turned out that they were actually from Ukraine, the country that broke Elizabeth's heart in the first place and set her out on this current journey! When the daughter saw the sign we had posted about Elizabeth going to Russia, she came over and offered her email and phone number so they can stay in contact. God, you are so cool!!

So, it was a successful weekend. Money was raised for the many items still needed to take overseas. Lots of "stuff" has moved on to new homes. And now it's the final sorting and packing before the big move! It's coming...really, really fast!