Relative Importance
Anieta Hopper / Finance Manager
Wouldn’t you know it? August 27 I had a Finance Committee meeting in the evening and wouldn’t be home until late to see my lovely cabinets. As soon as I walked through the door at home, I realized there was a problem. There weren’t nearly enough cabinets! They had shipped half the order. The company was advised, and we naively thought there’d be a rush to get the rest of the cabinets to us. We went in immediately to pick out and pay for our countertops. We didn’t want any hold up once the second shipment of cabinets arrived.
No need to be in such a rush. Almost two months later, to the day, the second half of the cabinets were delivered. Naively again we thought they’d schedule the installation, and we’d have that lovely kitchen for Thanksgiving.
The installers came the first week of December but couldn’t finish the job because they were missing some trim. The countertop folks came to measure the end of that week. Things were getting exciting. Maybe we’d have our lovely kitchen for Christmas! Well, I did. The cabinets were installed (but not finished) and my dear husband had plywood cut to size so I’d have “countertops”, hooked up the wall oven, and temporarily hooked up the gas cooktop.
Weeks passed and the missing trim had not arrived. Still no countertops. It is now February 2021, nine months after we had paid in full for our kitchen. After a call to the manager, the trim arrived about two days later. It had been sitting in a warehouse in Cheektowaga since mid-December. The countertop people would be installing in a week. Not so fast … their machines “broke down” and there was another week-long delay. The countertops are beautiful. We were so pleased but what excited me most was having a sink (plumbing courtesy of my 14-year-old grandson!). We continued to trip over the uninstalled trim. Finally, in March, 10 months after we paid and entered into agreement for the cabinets, we had our kitchen and it’s a dream.
It’s so important in life to maintain perspective. One way Merriam-Webster defines it is the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. The kitchen was important to me, but I had a lovely pantry with lots of storage, a small countertop, a fridge, stove, microwave, and a laundry sink where I could wash dishes. I had more than many people around the world. It wasn’t as convenient as I might like. It wasn’t my beautiful kitchen, but it was all I needed. I was blessed.
Sometimes as an American Christian I need to pause just a moment and ponder the relative importance of the things that frustrate me and disturb my peace. I need to attempt to view the world through my Father’s eyes. I need to place higher value on the things He values. The Father values people and this was an opportunity for us to be in contact with people we otherwise may not have met. It was an opportunity for us to represent Christ to the salespeople, the manager, the schedulers, the installers, and all others we came in contact with. I trust we were found faithful. I trust we represented Him well and that God will use each small contact for His eternal purposes and to His glory. In the end, that’s what matters.
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| Jessica Lewis on Unsplash |
After months of discussion, planning, and decisions we finally settled on what we wanted and on May 3, 2020 we signed the paperwork and paid for the kitchen of our dreams. Because there was a special finish on the cabinets, we would have to wait 12 weeks to get them. No problem. Twelve weeks came and went, and no cabinets. Finally, we received word that they would be delivered on August 27. We were so excited that we’d soon have our kitchen.
Wouldn’t you know it? August 27 I had a Finance Committee meeting in the evening and wouldn’t be home until late to see my lovely cabinets. As soon as I walked through the door at home, I realized there was a problem. There weren’t nearly enough cabinets! They had shipped half the order. The company was advised, and we naively thought there’d be a rush to get the rest of the cabinets to us. We went in immediately to pick out and pay for our countertops. We didn’t want any hold up once the second shipment of cabinets arrived.
No need to be in such a rush. Almost two months later, to the day, the second half of the cabinets were delivered. Naively again we thought they’d schedule the installation, and we’d have that lovely kitchen for Thanksgiving.
The installers came the first week of December but couldn’t finish the job because they were missing some trim. The countertop folks came to measure the end of that week. Things were getting exciting. Maybe we’d have our lovely kitchen for Christmas! Well, I did. The cabinets were installed (but not finished) and my dear husband had plywood cut to size so I’d have “countertops”, hooked up the wall oven, and temporarily hooked up the gas cooktop.
Weeks passed and the missing trim had not arrived. Still no countertops. It is now February 2021, nine months after we had paid in full for our kitchen. After a call to the manager, the trim arrived about two days later. It had been sitting in a warehouse in Cheektowaga since mid-December. The countertop people would be installing in a week. Not so fast … their machines “broke down” and there was another week-long delay. The countertops are beautiful. We were so pleased but what excited me most was having a sink (plumbing courtesy of my 14-year-old grandson!). We continued to trip over the uninstalled trim. Finally, in March, 10 months after we paid and entered into agreement for the cabinets, we had our kitchen and it’s a dream.
It’s so important in life to maintain perspective. One way Merriam-Webster defines it is the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. The kitchen was important to me, but I had a lovely pantry with lots of storage, a small countertop, a fridge, stove, microwave, and a laundry sink where I could wash dishes. I had more than many people around the world. It wasn’t as convenient as I might like. It wasn’t my beautiful kitchen, but it was all I needed. I was blessed.
Sometimes as an American Christian I need to pause just a moment and ponder the relative importance of the things that frustrate me and disturb my peace. I need to attempt to view the world through my Father’s eyes. I need to place higher value on the things He values. The Father values people and this was an opportunity for us to be in contact with people we otherwise may not have met. It was an opportunity for us to represent Christ to the salespeople, the manager, the schedulers, the installers, and all others we came in contact with. I trust we were found faithful. I trust we represented Him well and that God will use each small contact for His eternal purposes and to His glory. In the end, that’s what matters.