Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Fiasco Turned Blessing

I have been on a search for a cute lightweight coat for the weather around here! My old one is shredding and it was time for a new one! But, finding one that met all my criteria has proved impossible.

I finally found one I liked (minus a hood) and it fit great - but I did not buy it because it was not on sale! I figured I could always order it online when it went on sale, but upon arriving home (1 hr. and 15 minutes from the mall) I noticed they were already out of my size, so the coat would have to be located in a store.

And, so the saga began - I called the store and tried to order the coat over the phone. But, that was against their policy. So, I called my friend Melissa and asked her to check the store near her which she graciously agreed to do.

They did not have the coat, but offered to order it. So, that's what we did. And, it arrived promptly two days later - in the wrong size. Another trip back to the store - we returned the too big coat and re-ordered the correct size.

Days went by and no coat arrived. I finally tried to call the store - but their line was busy and I could not get through. So, Melissa graciously agreed to go again. She got the name of the manager I needed to speak to and I was able to get through and speak with her.

Again, I was assured the coat was on its way and thought everything was straightened out. And, the coat arrived in the designated time, but with the ink tag still in place. Sigh - was this coat really worth all of this?

Melissa made yet another trip to the store with the coat since she lives much closer than I do to have the tag removed and I was able to wear it home from church on Sunday!

In the end, this fiasco has turned into a blessing - between all the $5 coupons they gave me and some birthday money I had in advance - I did not spend a thing on this coat and actually came out $10 to the good - which I gave Melissa for all of her trouble.

I just love how God cares for us so generously. He knows I was concerned about paying full price for the coat and yet that I really liked it and how it fit. And, He provided - yes, it seemed very frustrating at the time, but as I looked back it was a blessing in disguise.

I will enjoy wearing this coat all the more knowing how sweetly God provided for it! And, it reminds me of other times in my life when something has seemed like a huge fiasco and has turned out costing less or nothing at all just for the trouble. To me, it is worth the trouble for a reminder of His provision and care for us!

Do you have a story like this? Where your fiasco became a blessing? Please share!

16 comments:

Stephanie in SC said...

Oh Monica! I can think of several but will give you one example.
We built our house 17 years ago.I had my heart set on these gray bricks that were made here locally.As time came to order the brick, the brick maker announced they were going to close down for retirement, and all their brick would be on sale!
Everyone else thought it was a great deal too, and they did not have as much brick as the masons told us we needed.Oh!! I had known for years I was going to use THESE bricks. I was very disappointed. We began the search for bricks but I found none I loved or even liked. I told my husband we should just get the best quality/ least expensive brick we could find.
We went back to the maker going out of sale and got a GREAT deal on a brick that I could live with. We bricked up the house but had **loads** of brick left over.
Then, I realized, I could've gotten the gray brick. I am ashamed to say I was really mad.
Fast forward to this January. We decided to build a huge room onto our house since we routinely have family and friends over. We actually had enough brick to brick the whole room! If I would've gotten the brick I had *wanted* there's no way we could've had brick to match.And, it was also something else we did not have to spend money on.We just had to made several trips in the tractor to get the brick out the field and up to the house :-)

Leanne said...

I waited to purchase a new vacuum for 229.00...after I got the 30% off coupon, making it 160.00 with free shipping; however, it did not come for A LONG TIME...and I was getting desperate. Then I had a very unpleasant interaction with a salesperson on the phone. I had decided that I was returning the vacuum, no matter what! However, my husband said to "let it go"...and I did...especially, after much more pressing circumstances came up in our lives! and guess what...I LOVE my new vacuum. It was well worth the wait!

Grace said...

Finding the place we are living. I am pretty sure I shared that story with you. So glad you found your coat and It does fit you well! Love you.

Mom said...

I hope this cute coat serves you well for a long time! Love, Mom

Melissa said...

Your coat is so perfect for you! So thankful God provided - as He always does. Thank you for letting me help you, dear friend! P.S. Don't forget the Heavens opened and showered the earth just for you on Sunday so you could wear your new coat!!! Hee, hee!!!

Jessica said...

I love it! It seems I've have several situations like this where I felt like nothing was going my way, but in the end I just stand amazed at how God works. It may sounds silly, but my mom used to pray with us growing up before we would go clothes shopping. We would pray for good deals so we rightly handled the money the Lord blessed us with and we prayed for modest findings too. Thanks for sharing!

Dayna (Spear) Guenther said...

Very cute coat! What a blessing from God!

I don't know that it could be called a fiasco, but my most amazing provision from God was the way He ordered everything in sending me to the Netherlands for a year as a fill-in missionary.

The same month that I quit my job as a copy editor, on faith that God would lead me, the missionary needing a fill-in in the Netherlands contacted her mission to let them know this need. I got a temporary job that was going to only last two days. Every day they asked me to stay another day, eventually asking me, "How long can you stay?" The job (which was perfect, and not stressful at all) continued right up until I was prepared to leave for the Netherlands!

As of July 1, 2006, (one month before I was to leave for Holland), I had 0% financial support. Two weeks later, I had 60%, and I left for Holland August 1 only slightly under-supported, having gotten special permission by the mission board. The missionary for whom I was filling in and her husband allowed me to house-sit and use their car. Absolutely everything fell into place! It was just amazing and so "of God"!

~katie~ said...

Dear Monica,

I love how you so beautifully outlineded God's hand and orchestration of providence for your lovely new coat!! It looks great! I must say I might've grumbled a time or two during the course of those events...thanks for displaying such patience and grace through it all!

Blessings,
Katie

Heather C. said...

Sooooo cute!

Edi said...

I am surprised in the way that God sometimes provides for us. The way that when we need something a good deal comes along or its found at a garage sale or thrift store.

Yes we could afford to pay full price for our needs (and wants) but we believe in being careful stewards of our money and sometimes that means waiting...and waiting...and waiting.

Here's my (lengthy) story...

I have been waiting for this particular chair to go on sale for months now. When I first saw it - I knew it was just the right chair that I needed for an empty spot in our living room. It wasn't terribly expensive as chairs go, but it was more than I wanted to spend - and besides, I generally do not like spending full price. I am a thrift store-garage sale-Craig's List-eBay kind of girl.

Almost every week or so, I'd go to the store to make sure the chair was still there and to check if it was marked down. One week it did go on sale - but it was "Buy one get one half-price". Maybe not a bad deal if I needed two - but there wasn't even room for two chairs.

Then around Thanksgiving they were on sale for about $100 (just my price!). But there was a problem, the sale only lasted for a few days - days we would be out of town - and the final day it was on sale was the day we'd arrive home from our trip. It was rainy out and we were too tired to go and get it :(

So back to the waiting game.

Well New Year's Eve day, the kids and I went back to the store. Lo and behold there were a couple of the chairs in the clearance section on sale for $80. Even a better price than the $100 I thought was a good deal. I bought the chair and even managed to get it home on my own.

Angelia in TX said...

I smiled when I saw your coat. God knows how much I love to have the hidden messages. I just love it on you! Somestimes my tender and soft hearted son will unbutton his shirt and try to take his shirt off if he feels bad for something, He will say I do not deserve to wear these things. I am not sure why he ever thought to express his thoughts this way. But I always assure him that no matter what we need to keep on the clothes God gives us, God says we deserve it b/c God says He clothes us in His righteousness, nothings we can do to deserve that gift. I am learning right next to my sons lovely heart to keep my jacket on too. Enjoy Gods love for you as you wrap up in your awesome jacket. smiles, Angelia in TX.

*carrie* said...

Monica,

So cute--glad you finally got the right one, although I'm sorry it was a hassle!

I'm glad you posted this, though, because it reminds me to tell you I used the $5 card you generously sent me to get a new hoodie. My old one (which you gave me when I was teaching!!) had become really stretched (it went through 2 pregnancies, after all!) Thanks again. Love you!

Katy said...

I think the coat looks fantastic! And I am so happy to hear it actually all turned out in your favor!!! :)

Jenny said...

very cute coat. I love how positive you are and giving God the credit.

Unknown said...

Hi Monica~I have many circumstances like this one. Do to finacial circumstances we can't buy a lot of stuff and I'll go to the store and see something I really want, but it's not on sale. I'll go back and then they're all sold out. Time will go by and then on a trip to an overstock store (we have several in our town) there is the very thing I had wanted. Usually 50-75% off the original price.
I regularly have to remind myself that God has already given me more than I deserve and the rest is just "stuff" I think I need. Glad you were able to get that perfect coat!

Lauren said...

I just LOVE the way God cares about the details of our lives and not only our needs..... but our wants! Recently we went on vacation and while there our van broke down. It ends up the transmission(even used) would not be worth it to fix. We had 3 days left to find a van to drive home. My hubby searched craigslist and we went and actually bought the first one we looked at. We didn't have much tax money left and don't have any credit cards so we had to basically take what we could get. Anyway.....the blessing was the air broke right after we got home and you may wonder why this is a blessing....????
Well, EVERY car I have ever had has ended up with broken air conditioner. We live in Savannah,Georgia and it is super hot in the summer so this is a huge problem. But I guess the blessing in the air breaking is that as soon as we got home we took the final tax money and got it fixed and now we have air for summer yey! If the car had broken down even one month later we would have probably spent the tax money on something else. I do have to say we felt very discouraged because this used up several days of our trip but we knew God was in charge and he is always faithful!