Seize the Moment

   A couple of weeks ago I dropped in to the Home Goods Store across the street from my office to make my routine check for table lamps. Somehow, during our move five years ago, one of our crystal sofa table lamps in the den was cracked near the top of the lamp and it now represents a minor safety hazard. We have both looked in numerous stores for several years to find suitable  replacements. We have seen a particular lamp style that we both love on numerous occasions, but never have we seen a pair at the same time. They are a blue and white ceramic ginger jar and they are a very well known brand. At the Home Goods Store they sell for about 20% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price. These are quality lamps that will add beauty and charm to your décor and that will last a lifetime.
   On this particular afternoon I spotted a lamp that was very similar to the style we like. It was the right manufacturer, it was blue and white ceramic but it was like a double jar instead of a single ginger jar. I called Cheryl and suggested that she may want to go by and take a look after she got off work. She agreed and we dropped in the store after eating dinner nearby. It was around 8:00 when we arrived and we discovered that the store was open until 9:30 that evening. The lamp wasn't exactly what we had been looking for and they only had one, but I suggested that maybe we should go ahead and buy it  with the hope that another would come into the store. She agreed and we decided to purchase the lamp that evening.
   As we paid for the purchase, I casually asked the checkout clerk if they had any nearby stores. She advised that indeed there were stores in Durham and in Winston-Salem also. I asked her if she could call the Winston-Salem store and see if they had the same lamp we had just purchased. She called and after a few minutes wait, she cheerfully announced that yes indeed, they had three of them.
"Can you ask them to hold one for me", I asked.
"No sir, it is against store policy to hold merchandise" she replied.
   I looked at my watch and it was 8:45, I then looked at Cheryl and said, "We can just make it if we leave right now, or I can go there in the morning." It is only about twenty-five miles on the interstate highway to the other store, so I knew we could make it in time.
"I'm tired and they won't sell out before morning, let's just go home" she said
"But Cheryl, we have looked for so long and you finally found one that you like, let's don't let the opportunity pass, let's go tonight"
"OK" she replied.
   I urged her to drive, because in another life could have easily been a NASCAR champion. I pulled up the directions on my phone and guided her down the interstate. She didn't speed but she left no prisoners behind as she sped down the interstate. The other store was just off the highway and we pulled into the parking lot with fourteen minutes to shop. She found a spot right in front and we hurried into the store. I found the matching lamp and then spotted the other two to choose from.
Cheryl came in and began looking around at other lamps. I headed for a buggy to carry the lamp in when I heard her call out to me excitedly, "David look what I found". I turned and saw a radiant smile on her face that always makes me feel good all over.
   She was holding the perfect blue and white ceramic ginger table lamp that we had searched for  several years to find. "There's two of the them." she said with animated voice.
"If you want these instead, that's what we'll do, I suppose they are more expensive than the others". I inquired.
"Of course", she said.
   I didn't care what they cost, I would have paid double to see that smile on her face. We paid out and left the store just before it closed.  Cheryl wasn't tired anymore, she was effused with energy. Each of us had a great time sharing with our best friend on the thirty minute ride home. It was a good night. I took the other lamp back to the Greensboro store the next morning.
   As I look back on the night, it occurred to me that this was more than a shopping story. It is a life story. How often do we decide to settle for less when the perfect solution is awaiting just a little bit further beyond our vision. We are limited by our own parameters that we draw from our life experiences. It only takes a couple of questions and the answers can lead us to a perfect solution to our problems that we wrestle with for days. And oh, what a sweet touch for the good Lord to have exactly what we were looking for waiting for us. Just because we were willing to venture out of our comfort zone and grasp an unexpected opportunity.

The Prize

Fits perfectly in our den.