God is in the details 

To start this post, I want to mention reading Mandy, at Blue Collar Theologian, recent blog about being emotionally attached to “stuff” as she cleaned out her dad’s house. It hit hard as I am also trying to let go of things and get rid of items just sitting in boxes. Letting go of the past is a huge deal, as being emotionally tied to “things” can be so draining, and when we let go, we have that feeling of being so free because we were never supposed to carry it in the first place. We clean and organize when Ryan and I visit my dad’s house. Incredibly, the house has not imploded yet, but three families are living in it, and trying to find room for everyone’s stuff is challenging without it looking like an episode of Hoarders.

Among the items is a box of drinking glasses we have kept in the attic for at least twenty-five years. Why? When I was about eleven years old, my mom received them from a bible study Christmas swap, and she laughed, wondering what to do with them. She had a sharp sense of humor and joked that they would be my future wedding present. My mom is no longer on this earth, but my dad and I quietly left the glasses in the attic. In the toughest season, when I did not know if I would ever get married, I continued waiting, and the glasses stayed in the attic.

Flash forward to now. We are having electrical work done, so Ryan went to the attic to clean up and install some new lights. We marveled over his work when I spotted THE box under some other boxes and cautiously opened it to inspect its condition. As soon as he grabbed one, he said, “I am pretty sure my mom has the same glasses.”

He texted her a picture to ask, and she replied, “Yes, I believe so! They look familiar.”

She sent a picture from her kitchen holding the same glass and captioned it, “hilarious”.

Now, mind you, Ryan married his mom. I mean, not literally. This is not Leviticus or Jerry Springer. Anyway, it is almost scary. Short story: When we were dating and on FaceTime, once I held up a pair of maracas that one of my cousins gave me, along with her ball in a cup game… the wooden handle toy that has a small wooden ball attached to a string, and you have to toss it into the cup.

States apart. What are the chances we would both have these items?? Then, while visiting her for Ryan’s birthday one year, his mom told me she bought him some of his favorite socks. I ran to my bag to retrieve the card I had just made for him: I drew a pair of socks and said, “My perfect match”. His mom and I bought each other the same tiny handheld mirror for our wedding. I remember her opening her box at the table, and she quickly looked at Ryan, and he said, “I did not say a thing!!” Only to hysterically laugh when I opened my present later that night. We obviously have good taste.

Anyway, with all of this in mind, it was not until she sent the photo of her glass and said, “hilarious,” that it was as if I had a flashback of all these previous things.

I had a movie reel of my entire waiting season playing in my mind, and God says, “See.”

My mother-in-law, who lives in Texas, has the same glasses in her cabinet that I had in the New Orleans attic for 25 years, which my mom joked would be my wedding present.

We are keeping the glasses.