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Michelle DeRusha

Every Day Faith. Faith Every Day.

August 4, 2013 By Michelle 31 Comments

Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: It’s Not Pottery Barn…but It’s Perfection

I turn the slick pages, one after the other, my feet propped on the metal patio chair, chickadees trilling in the white pine. “Ooooh, that’s nice,” I murmur, gazing at pristine dishware, dazzling fabrics, glass hurricanes and smooth pillar candles.

Noah perches next to me on the arm of the chair. Together we admire the lavishly decorated tables displayed across glossy pages. We stop a moment on page 10, pointing to the sumptuous leather chairs and the rustic but chic chandelier.

“Wow. Now that looks just like perfection to me,” I say to Noah. “A gorgeous table set with beautiful dishes, crisp linens and candles, all ready for an evening dinner party. I don’t think it gets much better than that.”

Noah nods solemnly. I turn more pages as he walks inside.

I’m pining, coveting the opulence orchestrated so perfectly on those pages. I want the monogrammed napkins, the mercury glass votives, the plush throws. I want the Pottery Barn stuff and the Pottery Barn life, the seeming ease that comes with high-class living. I’m sick with envy over the fact that people I know actually own a lot of the furnishings and home décor displayed on these pages. I’m envious because I want to own it, too.

The screen door slams shut, and I look up from the magazine.

“Now you have perfection, too,” Noah tells me, stepping carefully over the acorns strewn across the patio. I lean forward as he places my grandmother’s blue Fiestaware dish on the green metal table. A scattering of scarlet, foil-wrapped Dove chocolates sits in the center of the dish. Delicate stems of burnished Autumn Sedum and golden beech leaves are arranged around the candies just so.

Noah sits next to me on a tipping metal chair, striped cushion faded dull from the burning summer sun. We unwrap the foil and let the smooth sweetness melt in our mouths.

I close the Pottery Barn catalog and lay it on the table, tuck my feet beneath the worn cushion and unwrap another chocolate. I smile at the boy next to me as a gust twirls pine needles from the tree-top to the leaf-cluttered lawn. A squirrel rustles his nest high above us, and acorns plunk onto the patio umbrella like raindrops.

It’s not Pottery Barn … but it’s perfection indeed.

Questions for Reflection:
What do you covet? Have you thought about what might be fueling that coveting? Is it envy? Resentment? Anger? Insecurity?

Edited repost from the archives.

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Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: When You Fear You've Flunked the First Commandment
Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: When Complaining Leads to Coveting

Filed Under: 10 Commandments, coveting, envy, Old Testament, Use It on Monday Tagged With: coveting, Exodus, Hear It on Sunday Use It on Monday, living the 10 Commandments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jean Wise says

    August 4, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    That is one special young man you are raising! wow. Catalogs do bring out the worse in me. Just when I think I have this coveting under control I find myself deep drowning in envy once again. Great post!

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      Usually when Pottery Barn comes in the mail now, I put it right into the recycling box. But sometimes I can’t help myself. I do love me some Pottery Barn!

      Reply
  2. Lyli @ 3-D Lessons for Life says

    August 4, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    You captured my heart with that picture of the chocolate. He is going to make some girl very happy one day. 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      Isn’t that the truth?! Noah is a pretty sweet kid.

      Reply
  3. Lori says

    August 4, 2013 at 9:25 pm

    Now that boy is sweeter than the chocolates. My, my, my. I am blessed.

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      Thanks, Lori.

      Reply
  4. Pat says

    August 5, 2013 at 7:12 am

    Noah is one creative guy.To be able to see the beauty of nature and present it like that. I want him to plan my parties! He may be designing his own catalogs some day.

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 5:58 pm

      This made me smile, Pat!

      Reply
  5. Joanne Viola says

    August 5, 2013 at 7:37 am

    Michelle –
    That is just beautiful!!! You are raising a fine young man that will bless a girl one day. May God bring Him the perfect woman! Also a testimony to the mom that you are! As an aside, I have always admired the Fiesta dishes & have yet to own one:) But there is something about their simplicity that has always spoken to my heart. So thank you for sharing this post!
    Blessings,
    Joanne

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      I love Fiestaware. I only have a few pieces from my grandparents, and I cherish them. But I like the fact that they are simple – everyday beauty is my kind of style!

      Reply
  6. Sheila at Longings End says

    August 5, 2013 at 7:52 am

    LOVED what Noah did. Perfection indeed. And a child shall lead us…
    Thanks, too for the link up today, Michelle. Blessings…

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:00 pm

      That Noah, he’s a smart one – he’s always teaching me something about spirituality, faith and the important things in life.

      Reply
  7. kelli woodford says

    August 5, 2013 at 10:27 am

    wow wow wow, friend.
    your simple story births a prayer in me:

    Oh God, give me eyes to see.

    thank you, Michelle. truly.

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:00 pm

      My prayer every day, Kelli. My kids are SO much better at seeing the hand of God in our everyday than I am – I learn so much from them.

      Thanks for stopping by, friend.

      Reply
  8. Lisa notes says

    August 5, 2013 at 10:46 am

    Wow! Noah is going to make somebody an awesome husband some day! Yes, that sounds like perfection to me, too.

    It’s hard not to covet those pretty things that sparkle at us from the world, but then when we get hit with authentic beauty like Noah gave you, that shakes us back awake to what matters. Love this post, Michelle.

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:01 pm

      I like the way you put that, Lisa – authentic beauty shakes us awake. Yes and amen.

      Reply
  9. Gaby says

    August 5, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    They listen, don’t they? They pay close attention and learn from what we do, how we see life, how we respond. What a sweetie, that Noah. Like his namesake from over here 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:01 pm

      They teach us so much, don’t they, Gaby?

      Thanks for stopping by today…

      Reply
  10. Katie says

    August 5, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    Michelle,
    Can so relate! Just came back inside a bit ago to move the laundry along. Had been out on the hammock looking through Real Simple Magazine and envying all the pretty stuff! Thank you for the reminder that what I’d rather be doing is reading a good book with my grandsons out there:)
    Gorgeous day thanks to a gracious God, nearly spoiled by wanting what I don’t need, rather than rejoicing over memories and more special times to come!!
    Appreciate how you point us back to what matters.
    Gratefully,
    Katie

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:03 pm

      Oh Real Simple magazine is another of my downfalls for sure, Katie! And I feel the same way about my time online sometimes. I realize it’s not really feeding my soul like a good book or conversation with a real, live person would. It’s good to get that much-needed perspective shift sometimes.

      Reply
  11. Laura says

    August 5, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    What a precious boy! Somebody’s doin’ something’ right!! Thanks for sharing your blessing.

    Reply
    • Michelle DeRusha says

      August 5, 2013 at 6:04 pm

      And thanks for coming by and linking up, Laura – I hope you are feeling better from your surgery!

      Reply
  12. Hazel Moon says

    August 5, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    So real so beautiful! Thanks for hosting your lovely site!

    Reply
  13. Judith at WholeHearted Home says

    August 5, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    I had tears inside (the kind that are in my heart and almost in my eyes) when I read through to the end of your post. How special and better than any luxury that you might have desired. As for me? I would love to have my downstairs flooring finished whether carpeted, tiled, or painted. Nothing is fueling it except the memory of our old home and being ready for it to be done. Not yet. This post spoke to me.

    Reply
  14. Harriett says

    August 6, 2013 at 9:17 am

    I loved this — I have flipped through those pages enough to know that longing, but I know that those set ups in the PB on just that — stage sets.

    We live real. You live real. Thanks for the reminder — as we both know what “perfection” is and it’s not from PB.

    Hugs.

    Reply
  15. Jenifer says

    August 6, 2013 at 10:49 am

    So precious!

    Reply
  16. Jillie says

    August 6, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    Oh Michelle, I hear you Sister! Yes, I’m guilty of covetousness on a regular basis. And it is fuelled by insecurity. The insecurity that says I’m not as good as everyone else. Actually believing that all that “stuff” will make me look better and feel better about myself. Keeping up with the Joneses is just exhausting, and nothing more.
    God bless your Noah’s sweet heart! What a wonderful boy! In his simple gesture, he reminded you (and me as well) of what really matters in life!

    Reply
  17. Megan Willome says

    August 6, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    That is perfection indeed!

    Reply
  18. Dayle says

    August 6, 2013 at 11:41 pm

    I agree. Who needs perfection anyway? I think of the Scripture that says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Yes, indeed.

    Reply
  19. Rouble Narine says

    October 19, 2013 at 9:42 pm

    You absolutely have a point there, I have never considered it like it like that before.
    You make it sound so stirring. I am going to have to inquire
    about this more!

    Reply

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Living out faith in the everyday is no joke. If you’re anything like me, some days you feel full of confidence and hope, eager to proclaim God’s goodness and love to the world. Other days…not so much.

Let me say straight up: I wrestle with my faith. Most days I feel a little bit like Jacob, wrangling his blessing out of God. And most days I’m okay with that. I believe God made me a questioner and a wrestler for a reason, and I believe one of those reasons is so that I can connect more authentically with others.

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