So Courtney came over around 10 yesterday morning, and we proceeded to load up both of our SUVs to the ceiling TWICE and make two runs over to the yard sale locale to drop things off.
Even though the work was hard and we were moving a LOT of stuff, we had a great time, especially trying to figure out how to set up one of the clothing racks. It collapsed later that day, so suffice it to say, construction is not in our future. We were able to get all of the smaller items over to Steven and Caroline's house during the day, and so we counted that as a huge success and blessing. God gave us some serious, super-natural strength to get all of that done.
Later on in the afternoon, Adam and I picked up the U-Haul and headed for the house to load up the big stuff. Two more friends of ours, Bob and Adam, came over to lend a helping hand. Thanks to their hard work and incredible willingness to sacrifice their time, we were able to load up two washers, a dryer, three TVs, a vanity, a dresser, a set of patio furniture, a couch and ottoman, an entertainment center, two large chairs and a piano all in one afternoon. THANK YOU, Adam and Bob! We absolutely could not have done it without you.
We finally got everything over to the site of the sale and were ready to call it a night. Steven and Caroline were even kind enough to let us stay the night at their house so that we could be up bright and early to set up the yard. It was the first sleepover I have had since high school. :)
Alarms went off at five this morning, and we were up and ready pretty quickly. After some coffee and morning reading in Ephesians, it was go time, and we were ready. Good thing, too, because this is what the TV room looked like as the sun was clearing the horizon this morning.
Caroline's home always looks beautiful!
We got everything out and organized into sections and then the sale began. Things were moving a little slowly at first, but we started a bit earlier than most sales. As the day progressed, we had a pretty steady stream of people coming through, and everyone was doing an amazing job chatting up the customers and selling.
Some of my favorite ladies in the whole wide world.
The biggest surprise of the day came about three hours in to the yard sale. A reporter from Fox 6 News showed up and asked to interview us about our adoption and about the yard sale and what we were trying to do. Her boss saw one of our online ads and sent her on over to the sale. We were very much caught off guard, and I was quite hesitant to do it (cameras make me very nervous), but we decided to go ahead, and it ended up being a really cool way to get the word out about adoption, and we were even able to get the Gospel in there, too. Not sure if all of that will make it on to the news, but it was a big blessing for God to provide us with the opportunity to share His good news and His heart for adoption with others.
Not the best we have ever looked. Oh well. :)
At the end of the day, Adam and I were both absolutely blown away by how well everything went. Today, we raised over $2,000 for our adoption. Praise be to God! We know that He was the Great Provider today. Thank you, Lord!
As a final thought, please allow me to say here that this yard sale has been one of the single most humbling experiences of my life. Around 95% of the merchandise up for sale today was donated by others; our friends gave freely of their time, energy, resources and awesomeness to help us in so many ways; and the Lord allowed us an opportunity to potentially share the gospel with news viewers even after the sale was over. As I sit here typing this, I am totally awed, amazed, overwhelmed and humbled by these things. I have truly had to examine my often proud heart and try to become willing to accept help from others. It has not been easy, but God has graciously surrounded us with some of the most incredible people I have ever known, and He is teaching me that I cannot do this alone and that it is not about me. God is reminding me day after day after day that HE is the one in charge of this adoption and our lives, not me. HE will provide, not me. HE can and will glorify His name, through me (and that has NOTHING to do with me or my abilities). HE alone is faithful; we just have to show up.
So, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped, prayed and donated. We absolutely could not have done this without you. Thank you for bringing us one step closer to our little one!
And now, it is off to sleep for me!
Love,
Baylor
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