Table Tales: Searching for "the One"

The first two years of marriage, Jake and I lived in a tiny, little birds-nest-sized apartment. We were both in school and funds were tight so we didn’t have much of a choice on the size of our new home. It was cozy and cute but in the way a puppy is cute till he chews your favorite heels. Paper-thin walls, shamelessly vocal neighbors and sociable mice were things I couldn’t wait to leave behind. My least favorite part of living in a small space was not having a table. I wanted so badly to host our friends and family but had nowhere to do so.

I had been praying for a few months that God would deliver us from that tiny, little thing when one day our friend who owns apartment buildings called. He said he had an apartment with a roomy living room available but that we’d have to move within the next two weeks if we wanted to snag it. 

 Needless to say, we were moved out in a matter of days. 

I knew this apartment was a direct answer to my many prayers so the first thing we did once we moved in was dedicate the space to God for his use. Then the search began. I shopped for tables during my lunch breaks, snack breaks, and evenings. I asked God to provide an affordable table. I promised to use the table to share his love.

Look at these tables! How can one resist?!

 

To my detriment, it can be so consuming to collect lots of fun furniture. I convince myself that I need so many things. I really can become obsessed with nesting/decorating and have a hard time turning off my mind once I start imagining all the possibilities for a room. Not that nesting is inherently bad, but when it becomes the only thing I can think about, there the problem\ lies. I wanted the need for this table to be different. I wanted it to have a greater purpose than just looking pretty.

I daydreamed of having a dozen friends over for dinner, eating at a long, rustic farmhouse table. But when I realized it wasn’t a reality for our finances or the space we had designated for a table, I decided to revert to Craigslist for some bargain hunting. The listings were plentiful and so were the hideous tables. After sifting through posts for a few weeks, I finally found something decent. As Jake and I drove out into the middle of nowhere to inspect the table firsthand, we (well, mostly I) wondered if these were the last moments of my life before a serial killer lured us into his garage on account of a cheap table. But when a chatty little redhead rode down the driveway on his tricycle to meet us, we knew this was providence.  

The table turned out to be just what we needed. It didn’t seat twelve but it could seat six with the leaf and came with 6 chairs. For $60, you couldn't beat this deal. I just love finding a steal. It fit in our apartment perfectly. We thanked God for his provision and dedicated the table to him as we had done with the apartment. I asked him to break in the table with an opportunity to share our home and his love. 

The table.

...More Table Tales later this week!