10/26/2023
Sharing from my personal page. I hope you enjoy this little story about a cool thing that happened yesterday. :)
I need to share about our day because something pretty special happened. I love when God shows off!
A little backstory: a few months ago I had a vintage Korean tea set donated. It was really pretty, brown trim with blue flowers. It was quite unusual because the cups and teapot weren't round like most, they were hexagonal. Under the teapot was a little stand that held it up and had room for a tealight candle to keep the tea hot. The only problem with the set was, that it was missing the lid and one of the cups. The missing cup wasn't much of an issue because it was a big set of cups and saucers, more than most people would need. A lot of customers admired the set, but no one wanted to buy it because of the missing lid.
I reduced the price at least three times. I moved it around the store, hoping it would catch the right person's eye and it would finally find a home where it would be appreciated even with its imperfections.
One day a group of ladies came in looking for a tea set for their coworker' birthday. They talked about how selfless she was and did so much for everyone else. They knew she would love a tea set and they had been searching all the local thrift stores. I showed them the vintage Korean set. I pointed out the missing lid, but offered an even greater discount and suggested that they might look for a replacement lid. They measured the hole at the top of the teapot and looked online from their phones and found that there were some that might work. They ended up buying the incomplete set and I don't think I saw them again. I wouldn't have recognized them even if I did.
Fast forward to this week. We made the decision to close the thrift store. We have a storage unit full of stuff, so on Monday when we're closed, I went and picked up about 5 totes full. Throughout the past two days, in between customers, I've been going through them and getting out as much merchandise as I could.
Today, in the last tote I emptied, I unwrapped the missing lid and teacup. I couldn't believe that I had them the whole time!
I had no idea how I'd find the people who bought the set. I was pretty sure they weren't on our page since they weren't regulars or friends of ours. I thought about how sad I'd be if I had to throw that lid away because we were closing and I couldn't find the owner.
I put the lid on the tea cup and put it behind the counter and went on with my day.
Around 5 o'clock when we were supposed to be closing, we had three customers left in the shop, one lady who comes in pretty regularly and 2 ladies that I hadn't seen before. One was shopping for some artwork and the other lady was her coworker who came seperately. The 2 new ladies knew each other but weren't shopping together. While the regular lady was checking out at the register, she reached behind the counter and grabbed the cup and lid and asked about them. I told her about the teapot I sold months before without the lid and how I just found the lid today while unpacking totes from storage. I told her I had no idea how I was going to find the owner.
A couple minutes later the other two ladies who were shopping came up to the register and one lady said, "My friend heard you talking about a teapot with a missing lid and I wanted to tell you that I'm the one with the teapot." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but at the same time, I could because...God. There were only three customers in the store and all three had a part. All three had to be there at the same time for this come to light. I asked her if someone had bought it for her and if they bought it here. She said, yes her coworkers bought it for her birthday at a thrift store, but she had no idea at which one. She looked through her phone and found a picture of the tea set she had taken to show her coworkers that she was using their gift. Sure enough, there was the same teapot in the corner without the lid. She said that they ordered a replacement lid for her, but it didn't fit. And she said she would have never put it all together, but because the lady reached behind the counter and the other lady overheard me explain what happened, she did. Her coworker/friend recognized the unique tea cup and went and told her. Her friend said, "Oh yeah, it's a matching cup." No big deal. She said, "It's not just a matching cup, it's YOUR cup and YOUR missing lid!!!"
This is not a big store. The sales floor is only about 1,000 square feet. Not a whole lot of people come through on any given day, but today all these things lined up at the same time to return this lid to the owner of the tea set. Coincidence? I think those chances are astronomical! Why is it so hard to believe that God loves us and cares about even the smallest things? Miracles happen every day!
The lady with the tea set called her friend on the phone right there from the shop at the urging of her coworker and said, "You're not going to believe this, but I'm at this little thrift store and..." she explained what happened, then she said, "I know! I have chills too!" Oh my goodness. We were all in awe when we realized what just happened and how we each had to be there and have a part in it for it to work out. Gregory told her, 'Well, now you have a cool story to go with your teapot."
After they left, Gregory and I realized that if we had closed "on time" we would have missed out on a miracle. And if we weren't closing and pulling things out of storage, we would have missed out too.
Such a fun day, considering the circumstances. Weve had so many friends and treasured customers stopping by, it has been incredibly humbling and touching. Thank you all! ❤
