Meeting God in Banana Republic

It's been a normal summer, and by normal I mean the kind where you think it's going to be slow and laid back, but it's actually crazy.  Because of the craziness and the taking care/keeping alive/entertaining 2 kids all day, I needed a break!  Plus, my mind has been very full because we are starting to enter into the adoption process again, so I've been worrying, uh, I mean thinking about that a lot . . . So, my friend, Kristina, and I decided to take a trip to the mall to shop around and have dinner.

It was almost time to go home, but we made a last stop in Banana Republic where I love to go and look, never buy things full price/if I buy something, it comes from the sale section (preferably if there's an additional 40% off).  As we walked into the store, an hour before closing, Geoff (sales associate) has 5 cards in his hand; he tells us that 1 of them is a $500 shopping spree.  I said, "bummer Blair isn't here because he always wins things."  Kristina opened her card, and I put 1 finger on each card to see if I could get a vibe from it.  The one in the middle had the vibe, but I thought - no, that's too obvious.  It's never the one in the middle, but nevertheless, I went with my gut.  I opened it up and I saw "$500 shopping spree."  I thought it had to be a joke.  I felt certain I was part of a psychological experiment where they tell you, you won something and then tell you it's a joke just to see how you'll respond.  Well, it wasn't a joke.  I won a $500 shopping spree . . .

It had to be spent right then!  I felt frantic.  I was shaking, sweating profusely, and disoriented.  Kristina was helping me and all the sales associates seemed really happy for me and they were helping too.  They pulled things they thought would look good.  I felt like someone featured on "What Not to Wear."  This sweet guy, Louis, pulled out the nice jewelry that I would never in a million years look at because it's so expensive.  He talked about complementary colors on the color wheel, and I was thinking - Sarah, you need to take this all in because it's a once in a lifetime experience.  The store did close, but they let us stay because they were all staying until midnight anyway, so it felt extra behind the scenes and VIP.

It was seriously a dream come true – literally.  I would never in a million years have expected that to happen.  It was truly amazing, fun, memorable, special.  I kept searching for the right word to describe the whole experience, and the word I came up with was "lavish." It's one of my favorite words.  I've always loved in Ephesians where it talks about how God has lavished His love on us.  I always think of lavishing as . . . to go completely and utterly above and beyond to show love.  The dictionary says it’s “bestowing profusely.”  It felt like love and care was being "bestowed profusely" on me.  I felt seen by God and desired and special to Him.  I struggle with feeling unworthy a lot.  I always have.  In that moment, that day, I felt worthy of love and lavishing.  I will never forget it. 

The other great aspect of it all is you know how I mentioned before that I've been worrying, uh, I mean thinking about adoption lately.  A lot of it is about the money.  I don't know about you, but we don’t have $30,000 laying around.  When I got home, I felt like God was saying, “I can provide you a $500 shopping spree out of thin air.  I can also provide the money you need to bring your 3rd child into your family . . .”

Just for fun - here are a couple of pics.  This one is me as we were leaving.  I couldn't take the card with me, so here I am in all my glory with the card i.e., this is what someone with curly hair looks like after trying on clothes all day . . .

 

 Here is  my biggest splurge.  I would never have otherwise bought it, but when do you get $500 for free at one of your favorite stores???