Tuesday's With God

On Monday afternoon I went to the airport to pick up my mom. She lives in Pennsylvania and was coming to visit for my book launch party. The party was Thursday. After a brief welcome, I asked if she had any specific activities she wanted to do. Since she did not, we decided to go shopping for my outfit for Thursday night. If you know me, you know that I am a bit of a last minute gal for most things. The outfit was no exception.

My plan was to find the outfit either at Fashion Ave or Fashion Ave 2, my two favorite consignment stores in the Twin Cities. One is located in Edina and the other in Wayzata, two of the wealthier Minneapolis suburbs and, therefore, a great place to find nice, relatively new clothing for less than full price. If you know me, you also know that except for black lululemon leggings, I won’t pay full price for anything. So, we started at Fashion Ave, and I didn’t find much.

I was going to head home, but I remembered this other Minneapolis gem, Opitz outlet, as I passed it on the highway. It’s kind of like a TJMaxx, but they have a whole designer section. I struck out again there, but said a quick prayer for help. “God, please just direct this whole process. And, make sure the outfit points people back to you, not to me.” We started to head home, but I decided to make one last stop at the other location of Opitz.

There, I found a winner, a long burgundy dress and matching blazer. The dress and blazer were both the same brand, but I found them in completely different parts of the store. The dress was even on clearance. I decided to walk by the shoes on the way out and found the perfect shoe on clearance in a size 5 that somehow fit! And yes, I do have very small feet, I normally wear a 6 or 6.5, but 5 is usually a no-go.

We headed home. I was quite happy with the outfit. The only thing that still needed to happen was to find a way to hem the dress. It was a full-length gown, which felt a little much for a book launch party. But, now it was 7pm on Monday and nothing would be open. By Tuesday, we would need someone who could do same day or next day tailoring, which is not easy to find during the holiday season. But, at least I had an outfit I loved.

Tuesday morning my mom and I woke up. Before we left the house I said my normal prayers, and I do not pray prayers of petition, only prayers for God’s will. So, I prayed that if it’s God’s will that we find a same-day tailor that He helps us find one. I thought maybe we’d pass a window with a sign that said same-day. I wasn’t sure, but I was hoping something would happen.

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