Our Carolina Room is divided into 2 workspaces - kind of an office space with the computer and the other half is my corner. I have fabric, cookbooks, craft books, yarn, string, glues, ribbons, an iron, quilting supplies, a nice table, and let's not forget the sewing machine.
For about 2 years I have been looking for a piece of furniture...I had a picture of what it might look like in my mind and I regularly hit all the thrift and consignment stores in search of the perfect piece. It needs to have drawers or shelves with cabinet doors, or both. Size is important - about 18" deep, 48" wide and I'm flexible on the height. Color isn't too important, but I prefer a lighter wood or it can be nicely painted. Oh, and I don't want to spend very much...I am definitely frugal. I've seen things that seemed perfect and try to imagine how it can work, but the closer I look the less perfect it gets...wrong size, blemishes, and the price is usually too steep. And then there are pieces priced just right but with closer inspection they're not better than what I already have...too small, too big, too something.
On Monday I walked into the guest bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks. There it was. The perfect piece. 7 drawers. 19" deep, 48" wide and about 38" tall. Nicely finished wood and no visible imperfections. I've had this masterpiece for nearly 15 years and look at it practically every day! I immediately emptied this fabulous dresser and the 2 old pieces that currently housed my fabric, and moved them.
So why did I waste all that time looking everywhere for what I had right at home? Sometimes in life we have a picture of what we want. What our life should be like. We have a tendency to miss what's right under our noses because we believe that there must be something better out there. I looked at the dresser for years and with each passing year I liked it less and less until I thought only about getting rid of it . How did that happen? I loved it when I bought it. And then something clicked and I saw this piece in a new light. It was perfectly suited for my purpose and the best thing about it was that it didn't cost me a penny. I had to clean it up a bit and a little hard work moving things around and relocating the stuff. I even scratched my arm, which now is scarred...but it healed. It will fade with time. This is life. We often have exactly what we want but we don't even realize it. We are so busy looking for what we perceive to be perfection that we miss what we have. The grass is always greener, right? NOT! We need to stop wanting for what we don't have and be grateful for what God has given us. Stop and think about what you're searching for...is it something that you already have? Is it something that can be nearly perfect by a new perspective and hard work? Are you looking through the perfect eyes of God or your fallible, human eyes?
© 2009 Barb Weatherwax
What an awesome story to tell such a real truth!!!! How right you are. The best things in our life are the things we already have in our lives. We chase after empty dreams only to find out later that all we dreamt about was right in front of us all the time.
Posted by: John Long | August 03, 2009 at 08:04 PM