It has happened to me.
I moved to west Texas in April 2007. s. I had purchased a cute little condo and was working on it's decor and furnishings. The interior was dark and dreary and some dark Gothic fans and light fixtures has immediately gone to the resale shop. New, creamy white fans with frosted glass fixtures had promptly taken their place. Other lighting and furnishings were needed to make this place much different from my previous home. I wanted a fresh start.
I had been to numerous estate sales in search for things, not new, more vintage. At one, where the house was also for sale and on the market, I bought a creamy white, with antiqued gold trim , floor to ceiling lamp with three small shades for the living area. In this patio home (there are tons of patio home in Midland), I spotted an enameled floral chandelier over the kitchen table. I was in love. It was not for sale obviously, as it was part of the house for heaven's sake. However, I had a feeling that whoever purchased this house would want to "update" it, not live in it as it. I got the name of the realtor who was listing the house. I gave her a call and put a bug in her ear that when the house sold, if the buyers decided not to keep that chandelier, I would love to purchase it. She stated she would be glad to forward my message.
On a random weekend that October, I decided to go to the "Trade Days" held, monthly, in Fredericksburg searching furnishings and for a chandelier like the one I had found and loved. While the trade days there are not near the size of those in Canton or Round Top-Warrenton, they take a day to explore.
At the very end of the first barn I navigated I found a vendor with a similar chandelier. It was not quite as big and it was not quite as fabulous, however, it was close. And most importantly, it was available! I immediately took up a conversation with the gal who was the proprietor of this shop. Her name was Lee. I don't know how much I told her about my life that day, but there was just this immediate attraction to her gentle soul, who also loved old things like I did. We had a great deal in common. We talked about the chandelier and my finding the one in the home for sale. We talked about a TON of other stuff. I think I told her my life history. Anyway, I told her I loved it, but honestly I wanted to look around since I had just gotten there. She also had a beautiful quilt I feel in love with but honestly didn't need. I told her I would be back to let her know something. So off I went for more exploring. It was a great day and I found a number of items for the condo, but no other chandeliers. My heart still longed for the one living in that home in Midland.
Days later I emailed my new friend and told her I was going to pass on her chandelier but loved meeting her. We shared some more and I remember her sharing Psalm 92 with me. Life was turning on a very big wheel for me during this time of my life.
it was February 2009, before I contacted her again. I just felt a calling or a directing to email her, so I did. She was no longer working at the place where her email when but "by chance" a previous co-worker emailed that email to her new address.
The rest is history. We have been friends ever since. She has guided me, mentored me, uplifted me, encouraged me through many events in my life since that time. She is just always there. She always has something to say that makes a mark on my life. She is my objectivity. They fact that she did not "live" through the last 25 years of my life with me has her coming at things from a whole different refreshing perspective...which I needed.
We are truly friends in our souls and our spirits. Here's the funny thing. In these 5.5 years, because there was so much distance between us, the first time I saw her again was April 2011. We met in Warrenton, Texas, at the Antique Fair. We shopped, spent the day together, went back to her house for the night and went back to Warrenton to shop some more the next day! We had a blast. For me, it was as if we had never been apart. It was as if I had known her all my life.
Yesterday, a year and a half later, we met for lunch. Once again, just started where we left off. We spend a lot of time emailing, however, do not get to spend much physical time together. We don't even talk on the phone. Since we met we have shared intimate things, things about our families, our grandchildren, our loves, our hopes, our desires, our difficulties, our losses and our joys. We have shared a lot and truly have become the friends it appears we always were...if that makes any sense.
I believe God put her in my life that day in Fredericksburg, Texas. He connected us and touched us in a rare and fruitful way. I only hope that I have added even some small thing to her life through this compared to what she has added to mine. I pray for a long and lasting friendship with her for the rest of our lives. I thank God for her.
Ecclesiastes 4
9 Two are better than one
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 if either of them falls down,
one can help the other up
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
THE REST OF THE STORY....
The Chandelier
Several months later, late in 2007, I got a phone call from the realtor. She said they had finally sold that patio home I had contacted her about months ago. She said the buyer was a local interior designer and yes, he was changing out all the fixtures. She said he was holding the lovely enameled chandelier for me at his store...for no charge. It proudly hangs in my condo!
Encourage one another...continuing the journey on fresh paths.
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