All That Glitters . . .

During the construction of mine and my husband’s new home, we were finally at the point where we needed to pick out our cabinets and countertops for our kitchen, among other things, such as trim and lighting.  There was a large home improvement store within thirty minutes of our home that we often frequented, but instead of going there, we made the decision to drive an hour away to a new home improvement store. A store whose commercials were practically on every radio and TV station, and whose flyers had accosted our mailbox numerous times.  Being on a budget, my husband and I certainly wanted to “save big money at M _ _ _ _ _ _” like that new stores annoying jingle promised that we would. 

I remember first walking with my husband, through the doors of that new store, and taking notice of all the beautiful eye-catching lights.  All shapes and sizes hung like large beacons of hope above our heads.  I’d first spied those alluring lights through the massive store windows. I was drawn to the sparkle of them like a moth to flame; like a bug to a bug zapper (you get the point). “WOW,” was all I could say as I initially viewed those sparkling lights from the parking lot and then from inside.  With my head tilted back, staring at the beautiful presentation above me, I felt like the obvious tourist in New York City, but it wasn’t skyscrapers that I was oohing and awing over, it was sparkling, glittering lights.  I swear I felt butterflies in my stomach at the excitement of not only those lights, but all the other magnificent things around me.  Who wouldn’t have butterflies with so many cost saving choices?

With a plan intact, my husband and I made our way through the store, choosing all those things that we would need for our newly built house.  The choices were many and I felt right at home as I easily made my way through that alluring home improvement store. It was the finding my way out that would prove to be quite difficult.

Each time my husband and I made a purchase for our home, we were given rebate forms, (store allowance cash) that could only be used on future purchases. The store was known for its 11% rebate program, which was a big part of how they saved their customers money, and a huge factor to how I ended up shopping there.  This is where Eve probably should have told Satan that she really didn’t like apples, and where I should have shopped at the store closer to my home.

My poor husband and I quickly became like two hamsters on a perilous wheel of rebates.  Did we really need anything else? No, but how could we throw away what was basically free money, right? It truly was a vicious cycle because the more we bought, the more rebates we received, which meant more shopping sprees and more rebates. Just as Eve probably found that apple pretty tasty and tempting at first, it wasn’t so tempting when she found out the consequences of eating it. Just as there were consequences for my husband and I shopping at that new home improvement store. The lure of that store’s big savings and 11% rebate system had become a distraction for us.    

Ahhhh, I remember the day when things all started spiraling out of control, and the reason why no one in my family is permitted to use the “M” word around me.  It started off like any other day, but this particular day was going to be special because my new white cabinets were arriving. With cardboard boxes offloaded into my garage; my husband and I eagerly opened those boxes.  We had planned on installing the cabinets ourselves in order to stay within budget, and so we wanted to make sure that all the cabinets were accounted for and without damage. 

“Do those look white to you?” I asked my husband, eying the first cabinet suspiciously, certain that I was seeing an eggshell color and not a white cabinet peeking from a newly opened box.    

“Maybe it’s the lighting in the garage,” my husband neglected to answer my question.

“You don’t think they look white, do you?” I felt fear rising in my chest.

“Let’s take them into the kitchen and see how they look with the lighting in there,” my husband once again neglected to answer my question.

Several cabinets later and much panic rising, I realized that the white cabinets we’d ordered, were most certainly not white, but eggshell, and seeing them against our already installed white kitchen trim, made it painfully obvious that we’d received the wrong-colored cabinets.    

“Before you panic, (too late for that) let’s wait until the countertops are delivered,” my ever-reasonable husband suggested. 

Once those countertops were delivered, the time had come for real panic to set in.  My beautiful gray and white countertops, perfectly matched to my white trim, did not match the obvious egg shell white cabinets.  The dream kitchen I’d been promised by the sales associate at that “save big money” store was certainly not like any dream I had envisioned.  With the trim already installed and the countertops sized for my kitchen, there was only one thing for us to do, we had to return the wrong-colored cabinets for the white ones I’d ordered. Unfortunately, after one simple phone call to the store’s manager, we were told that we could not return the cabinets because they’d been a special order.

It didn’t matter that my husband and I had spent thousands of dollars in that new store who’d promised to save us big money, we were being told that there was nothing they could do to help us. 

“You can’t or you “won’t” help me?” I found myself asking too many times to finally realize that I was simply another dollar in the millions (perhaps billions) of dollars that store probably made annually.  They didn’t see me as a person, but instead as a dollar sign.  They weren’t saving me big money. Instead, I was helping them to make more money.

It was a moment for me, that as a Christian, I felt duct taped and chained to Satan’s radiator, and I wanted nothing more than to go all crazy on that “save big money” store, telling them what they could do with their 11% rebate system.        

Inasmuch as I knew that I couldn’t do what I wished that I could do, (perhaps drive my car through their enormous windows, taking out their light display) I felt that my anger was justified.  I also felt God willing me to walk away from that store and shake the dust off my feet. After all, I’d exhausted all attempts to get them to do the right thing. I’d written letters to their corporate office, I’d spoken with several managers, but I kept getting the same answer, “sorry, we “can’t” help you.”

“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” (Matthew 10:14)

I was so tired of fighting a losing battle that not only did I shake the dust off my feet; I threw my dust filled shoes away. 

With a bruised ego and a little less money in my bank account, I was humbled by how easily I had allowed myself to get caught up in the lure of that new home improvement store, with their eye-catching light display and their promise of saving me big money. Lesson learned.

In the end, I ended up paying someone to paint my eggshell white cabinets, so that they’d match my gray and white countertops and white trim, and all that big money I’d been promised I would save, was in someone else’s account.  And to think, it all could have been avoided had I shopped at that home improvement store close to my home, instead of seeking out something better. And as we all know, what we deem as better isn’t always the best thing for us.  Just ask Eve.

If she were here today, I can imagine her saying, (after a long day of working in the garden) “If only I’d eaten those grapes instead.” I imagine she’d take off her shoes and kick them across the floor, longing for those days before fig leaves and constricting bras.  She’d probably open the fridge, spy an apple and ask, “how did that get in there,” before throwing it in the trash. And then plopping down on the couch, she’d turn to Adam and say, “My feet are killing me, would you mind rubbing them?” And as Adam reaches for her feet, somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s no doubt thinking, “This all could have been avoided, if only she wouldn’t have tempted me with that apple.” And of course, Satan being Satan, is somewhere in the darkness, singing, “save big money at M _ _ _ _ _ _. . .”