Sydaleigh's Labor Day weekend yard sale

At the beginning of this week Sydaleigh randomly started asking me when we were going to have another yard sale. Why, I have no clue. Maybe because she goes with me to so many, she wanted to have one of our own? No clue, doesn't matter, she started asking, we had stuff we could certainly part with, so I said,

"sure, why not, lets have one."

I really didn't think it was going to be a lot of work. I knew we had some stuff to get rid of, but I didn't think we had that much stuff. Until I really started looking that is. Then I started finding loads of things to sell, amazing how that happens. I can part with most things pretty easily, (unless you're a plastic bag, or my girls baby clothes, then not so much.)

Normally I just like to bag up our stuff and bring it to goodwill/salvation army without bothering to try and sell it, but I figured this time I would use the opportunity to teach Sydaleigh again about serving others. So, we talked about how we don't need the money we would collect at the yard sale, and instead we could use it to buy food for people who are hungry, or blankets for people who are cold, or Bibles for people far away who don't have one to read.

So we set up shop in our driveway this morning. We didn't have tons of stuff to sell, but it was a pretty modest sized yard sale. I was pleased. And Sydaleigh was grinning ear to ear when she woke up in the morning, came downstairs in her nightgown, walked out the door in her bare feet, to find me outside putting the finishing touches on it all.

It was still early (before 8am) when she finished helping me sticker the rest of the stuff. As we stood in the driveway waiting for our first customers of the day, Sydaleigh asked where all the people were. I told her they weren't here yet, but how about we take a quick minute to pray that people would come.

Sydaleigh's prayer went something like this, "dear Jesus, please let the people come to our yard sale. Please let them come to buy things that they don't have. We love you Jesus, Amen. Mommy, I closed my eyes just like you!"

"Great job baby, that was a great prayer!"

And then over the next few minutes, the people started to come. And they started to buy our things, and things that friends brought over to help. She got to take their money and give them change (until Mulan II beckoned to her from inside the warm house) :~) But she came back out every so often to see more people coming, and more stuff leaving. Which she loved. And I loved too.

This wasn't a big yard sale by any means, and before it started I had a goal of raising $100. That's all. Nothing major, but enough to use to buy some Action Pacts and bibles from Voice of the Martyrs, and some groceries for Open Door Mission's Fill a Pantry. And after four hours, we ran from 8-12pm...we raised $125. Not.too.shabby! Our God is so much better than good.

I don't know how much of this Sydaleigh "got" yet. It might feel a little more concrete to her once we go out and buy some things to fill our action pact and grocery bag. But I'm hoping that after seeing God show up and work in and around her life time and time again...whether in big ways or subtle ways, she will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she serves a God who loves, a God who cares beyond measure...and because of that she won't hesitate to pray in the middle of her driveway...her school...or her work...and ask for God's help again.

Amen to this day.