chairs to you

my brother and his wife {who i am privileged to call my sister}

took off to live in NYC about a month ago. i am very lonely for them and don't look forward to our first holiday mitch and alex-less. i will miss them for many reasons, but in addition to being a wonderful brother and sister, they are the kind of aunt and uncle every child should have. young and hip, creative and artsy, energetic and outgoing. they play the wii, meet us at pumpkin patches and move across the country looking for adventure and perusing their dream.

a couple of weeks after their move my mom called and offered me a chair that alex and mitch had left behind. my first thought was, um probably not. they are both recent college grads with

temporary jobs that payed the bills. they had not invested in furniture or the things that most newlyweds indulge in since they knew they would be

moving. don't get me wrong, i am in no way a snob about hand-me-downs. in fact, my house is filled with them. with that said, when i turned down the chair my mom suggested that she brings it over so i can take a look at it. i agreed.

a few days later she dropped the chair off. the upholstery is outdated but i didn't notice. i loved it and had the perfect empty wall in our family room for it to sit against. that night, after draping a blanket over the arm and placing a pillow against the back of my new chair, i sat on my handed down, slipcovered couch and admired the veiw. it was the first time the family room had felt complete and put together and i felt peace.

i smiled and thought about how good God is. you may not think that He had anything to do with the chair or the fact that it brought me comfort, but i would disagree. i am thankful for blogs, email, facebook, cell phones, thoughtful moms and my chair. they all make mitch and alex seem like they are across the street instead of across the country.