The Thrift Shop

I have a dear friend that loves to visit different libraries.
She knows where most libraries are in the surrounding region.
She will visit the library in any town she happens to be visiting.
It is something that she and her daughter love to do together.

They are both avid readers.
They will leave the library with a large satchel of books.
I am always amazed that she finishes the books in the allotted time.
She always does.

I can relate.
I can relate not to visiting libraries but visiting thrift shops.
There is something about a thrift shop that captures the character of a town.
That was evidenced when my friend and I spent the day together.

We left mid-morning heading yet again to the place that rejuvenates my spirit.
We went on all the back roads, some I never took before.
We had a few things we wanted to do, but the rest of the time was open.
As we were driving to our first stop I pointed to a store on the road.

The store is in a charming little town.
It has a front porch that I could easily enjoy sitting on for an afternoon cup of tea.
It has a sign out front that said, Quilts.
I always wanted to go that little store, I said to my friend.

Let’s stop on the way home, she said and she meant it.
So many times I passed the little thrift shop.
So many times I saw the sign that said, Quilts.
Today would be the day.

We finished all that we needed to do.
We had lunch and spent the afternoon talking.
We drove back the way we came.
Let’s stop, we both said together.

There were cars all around the perimeter of the building.
I parked in the back next to the spaces designated for Amish buggies.
Remnants of a horse that had been there before was on the ground.
We walked inside.

The store was everything I thought and more.
I bypassed the clothes section, which is where most of the people were shopping.
Instead, I looked at housewares, old furniture, odd tins, and quilts.
In a back room, I saw a quilting table where an Amish woman was working on a quilt.

Amish women and little Amish girls were in the shop.
They wore colorful dresses with snaps but no zippers as they walked around and browsed.
I saw so many wonderful things, old things, and country things.
I thought of my friend and her daughter that visits libraries and understood.

My friend directed me to a collection of tins.
I found two old tins that were very unique.
I found a Revere Wear frying pan with a lid, just like my mother had.
I gave mine to my son when he moved into an apartment after college.

I walked to the register with my three things.
Two women were in front of me.
One was pushing a stroller.
A little girl walking with them was holding a baby doll that they had found.

After listening, I determined that the woman pushing the stroller was the grandmother.
The two little girls, one walking and one in the stroller, were her granddaughters.
She used the top of the stroller as a shopping cart and she loaded it with all sorts of things.
She even found a collapsible playhouse that she was more excited about than the little girl.

I watched as item after item was placed on the counter.
I watched the Amish woman behind the register tally up her total.
The other older woman bought an expandable bag so that she could put her items in it.
I listened as the older woman talked to the Amish woman behind the register.

One woman was the grandmother and the other woman was the great-grandmother.
The little girls were hugging their new baby dolls.
You found wonderful things, the Amish woman said.
I sure did. God is good. He makes it possible for me to do this.

She waved her hands towards her daughter and her two great-granddaughters.
I have 90 years of being able to say that.
The Amish woman did a double take just like me.
We both looked at this woman who looked about 20 years younger.

Did you say 90? The Amish woman asked.
I did. I am 90 years old. God is good.
I looked at her straight posture and her warm smile.
I noticed her attitude.

She had an attitude of gratitude.
She made a clear declaration that God is good.
She rejoiced that for 90 years she was able to testify to that truth.
Her joy was palpable.

When it was my turn, the 90-year-old woman had already gone.
That’s hard to believe, I said to the Amish woman behind the register.
She knew exactly what I was talking about.
We both smiled as we continued with our own thoughts.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Psalm 19:7,8)

I thought of this verse as it described the woman.
She was radiant; she walked with the Lord a long time and it showed.
I am sure her life wasn’t easy at times.
However, she developed an attitude of gratitude that was undeniable.

My friend and I walked outside towards my car.
I was telling her about the woman.
As we came off the front porch, the woman was there.
Are you really 90 years old? I asked her seemingly out of the blue.

Yes I am.
God is good.
I have 90 years of being able to say that.
She grabbed her great-granddaughter’s hand as they walked to their car.

I looked at my friend.
I want to be just like her when I’m 60-years-old let alone 90-years-old.
My friend laughed.
My friend understood.

I want an attitude of gratitude.
I want to be able to declare that God is good.
I want to know and believe that God is good, all the time.
God is good all the time, even when things are hard.

I am so glad we stopped at that thrift shop.