See How God Works

"The Great Garage Sale"

by Marti Fisher

What I love most about doing “benefit” garage sales, such as this one for our upcoming Kenya mission, isn't collecting all the stuff or raising the money. It's seeing how Jesus is intricately involved in many of the details. His agenda includes things that I could never have planned or imagined. Let me explain . . . .

Although our February 16 garage sale had a few beginning bumps, it truly was a great sale. Buyers poured in early on that chilly morning and the race was on. Seeing the crowds, I was delighted that my neighbors on each side had volunteered to help.

Abby and her friend Sabra organized the clothing section, which was a huge job. Someone donated a pile of '80's dresses and ladies clothing to the garage sale. They were an immediate hit with Abby and her friends, who immediately grabbed them and spent an hour getting dressed in them for the sale. Below, see a larger photo of the well-dressed girls.

Some buyers were attracted to big ugly items that I call “garage sale elephants.” One of those “elephants” was a heavy, walnut-stained filing cabinet, approximately 30 inches tall and 36 inches wide. Apparently, we had stored this two-drawer reject in our San Bernardino home after returning from our 2002 Kenya mission. Now that we'd moved to Redlands and brought the “Big E” to live in our new garage, my opportunity to get rid of it had indeed arrived.

Unfortunately, at the end of the sale, this item was the only large unsold item. But I heard a knock at my front door and my neighbor came in smiling as she told me, "I sold it for $1". All I needed to do was help transport it.

I went outside and met a mom with a little 4-year-old girl. Both of them were beaming. They didn't have much money and had been garage sale hopping all day, looking for a dresser that they could paint pink. My "elephant" was just what they wanted and it was priced right. As I delivered it to their home, the mom told me that she had recently become a single mom and had used most of her money to move. I began sharing how God is so good to provide for us and we had a wonderful time talking about the Lord.

After telling her the dresser’s history, we both came away in awe of our wonderful God. He can take what we would throw away and turn it into something beautiful for someone else. After all, He’s the Creator.

Check out these garage sale photos.

Proceeds from Marti's and Abby's great garage sale didn't quite reach the amount needed ($1,200–$1,600) to purchase a reliably sturdy boat for the Kenya mission.

If you'd like to help the Fishers purchase a most appropriate, used boat that can safely transport people and equipment during the Fishers' Kenya mission, and thereafter be used reliably by the Kenya missionaries living there, please mail a check made payable to "Trinity Church". Write "Kenya project" on the memo line without adding anyone's name. Mail your check to Trinity Church, 1551 Reservoir Road, Redlands, CA  92374. Thanks so very much.