March 11, 2023
My little cottage in the mountains was a major rehab project from day one - the type of thing I just love. Giving new life to something old and worn resonates with my soul. I say it's what Jesus did with me. One of the projects on my list was the back door that led from the kitchen to the back porch. It was a solid dark brown door - Yuck. Not only did the dark door keep the light out of the kitchen, it blocked the view to the back porch and beyond, namely the playground. I had a day dream in my head of a much better view. I envisioned morning coffee at the breakfast bar with light pouring through the back window while watching my grandkids at the playground. The kind of dream that is so real it already feels like a memory. I checked on the price of a standard exterior door with windows and realized immediately that was not going to happen any time soon. I also didn't really want a new style steel door. The cottage needs vintage decorations and trimmings to match its age and feel.
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A month later, I was packed up with supplies and headed out of my hometown back to camp and to my cottage. I was going to volunteer in the kitchen for the Replenish youth retreat and to work on the cottage. On my way out of town, I passed a pile of junk on the side of the road - the sort of thing my trash-to-treasure-loving soul simply cannot resist. As I rubbernecked to see what was in the pile, I spotted a door. At first I thought, "the chances of that being the size I need are slim" and I just kept on driving. I got about a quarter mile down the road when I thought, "This is exactly what God would do for me - exactly." Because He's done this before and only He could get credit for a story like this. On that thought, I turned around and pulled up next to the pile. It was a narrow driveway leading to an old motel that was being renovated. The furniture that was sitting at the curb was wrecked but it was the kind of stuff that was beautiful in its day. The door, the vintage wooden door... was exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't sure if it was the right size but I knew I had to find out. It weighed a ton but I managed to wrangle it up into the bed of my truck and off I went.
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I was delighted to find that it was the right size and a few months later it was installed. Â At the moment that I am writing this, I am sitting at the counter (read that story too), looking out the windows in that door. The only thing left is for my family to be in the playground. If God cares about giving me a door, I'm sure He cares about my family. I will be expectantly waiting.
It is true that this is a fun story about God providing some physical thing. But it's also a story about me believing that God will do that. If I hadn't turned around that cold day to look at the old door, the good thing that God prepared for me would have never been known. No credit to me... He's just done it so many times I've come to expect it. And I LOVE telling the stories.
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