Change Starts Today

Last year we found out that on New Year's Day all of the Dillards' furniture that is marked as "Floor Clearance" becomes fifty percent off the lowest ticketed price for one day only. Unfortunately, we found this out too late to benefit much from the sale as Dillards allows customers to begin signing up for these items more than a week before the one day sale. This year, however, we were on top of it!

More than two weeks ago we started looking at both Wichita Dillards stores to see if there was anything we liked. On December 22nd, we put our name on a beautiful, bright red sofa and matching ottoman. Today the sofa arrived at our house thanks to a delivery by my in-laws and M. What a project this turned out to be.

My parents kindly allowed us (and even helped us!) to rearrange our living room on Thursday night in preparation for the new furniture. Today, M and my father-in-law had to figure out how to take the old couch down to the basement. It made it all the way to the basement, but it would not go around the corner until we removed the legs. One catastrophe avoided. The new sofa (did I mention that it's a sleeper sofa?) made it's way from the car trailer on which it was strapped, around the back of the house, and up onto the deck. It paused there because it seemed it might not make it through the door. After several attempts an angle was found that would allow the new couch into the house, through the dining room and right into place in the living room.

There's something hopeful and inspiring about rearranging furniture and adding new furniture to a room. Sometimes the rearranging in our lives is not by our own choice. Sometimes we are forced to rearrange to accommodate the circumstances in our lives. Other times we get to take control of the rearranging. Buying furniture is the happy kind of rearranging. For me it's also a sign that even though my life has been rearranged for me over the last months, I am determined to take back control. My bright, new couch is a sign that I am planning on having happy times come to my house this next year. There will be tears, because I have discovered my inner waterfall through the grieving process and nearly everything makes me cry (considering I had only ever cried at two movies, this is a big change). There will be fear, because who can really get through life without a little fear. But, there will also be trust and laughter and faith and reasons to rejoice. Change starts today and it starts with a new red couch!